


Project - Bring Back 208

by GenuineLoudBoy



Series: Project-FanFiction-208 [1]
Category: Septiplier - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/M, Finished, Flashbacks, Flowers, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mark Still Does YouTube, Memories, Plot, Robotics, Robots, Sad, Science, Septiplier - Freeform, Wiishu - Freeform, forget-me-nots, iRobot, they're married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-08-20
Packaged: 2018-09-16 21:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 33,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9290246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenuineLoudBoy/pseuds/GenuineLoudBoy
Summary: Sean just wants his husband back...





	1. Beginning

Jack walked over to a switch that was resting on the wall that was behind him. He put his hand on the switch and faced a table that he walked away from. He took a deep breath, and let it escape through his lips as he turned the switch on. The light’s flickered, the machines roared, he switched it off and ran toward the bed.  
He looked it over with hopeful eyes, but they soon faded as he saw that it didn’t work. He dipped his head down, put his hands in his pockets, and he walked away. But as he walked away, he heard what sounded like a computer being turned on. He shot his head up, he faced to where the sound came from. He saw movement, ha ran toward it, and looked it over.

“It worked…” He whimpered as tears filled his eyes. The cool breeze of the air conditioner ran through the hair of his project. Its eyes flickered open, they made eye contact toward Jack’s eyes. Brown and blue color eyes looking at one other. But the brown were emotionless and the blue were shining with joy. Jack took his creation’s hand in his and help him sit up. His creation flung his legs over the side of the table, breaking the eye contact between the two.

“Where…?” Its voice was deep, smooth, and mechanical. But then he looked toward Jack and made eye contact. “Who…?” He then pointed toward Jack. That alone made Jack’s heart sink. He should’ve expected this, his creation needed to learn.

“I am Jack Mcloughlin. And you are in my lab” Jack answered. “Do you know your name?” Jack spoke slowly so his creation could understand him. It then looked down to it's lap, and then looked up and once again made eye contact.

“Don’t…Know” Okay, two words now, this is good.

“Your name is Mark, Mark Fischbach” Jack answered, trying not to let his voice break or let tears form from just saying those words.

“Mark Fischbach” He echoed. His eyes then slightly closed and his chin hung low. “Jack Mcloughlin” He echoed. He was storing the information in his data.

“Are you ready to walk out of this lab?” Jack asked him. When he did this previously, his other projects would malfunction from too much information at once. But all that Mark did was lift his head up, and nod. Jack reached behind Mark’s back and cautiously unplugged the cables that were attached to the robot. Jack then took both of Mark’s hands in his and slightly tugged on them.  
Mark slid off of the side of the table, but just as soon as his feet hit the cold floor, he collapsed. Jack quickly pulled him up off of the ground and held both of his hands.  
“It’s okay, just put one foot in front of the other” Jack told him in a soft voice. Mark did what Jack instructed and they both slowly made their way out of the lab.

Once they got to Jack’s house, Jack sat him down on one of his couches. Jack left the room to go get Mark a shirt.  
Mark then looked around the room, he looked at the T.V, the other furniture, and then his eyes found their way toward a picture that was on the mantle. He stood up from his seat and walked toward it. He picked it up. It was of Jack and another man, the two of them were smiling. The other man that was in the picture was darker than Jack was, he had red hair on the top of his head and black at the sides, he also wore glasses that had slightly wide rims and red on the sides, he had a strong jaw with dark stubble along with brown eyes. The two looked happy. Mark then heard footsteps behind him.

“Who is this man?” Mark asked. He turned around and faced Jack, still holding the picture in his hands. Mark saw that Jack’s face saddened as he walked toward the robot. He put the shirt that was in his hands down on a chair and took the picture from Mark’s hands.

“He…He was a friend” Jack’s voice hushed at the last word as he put the picture back on the mantle. Mark then put a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

“’Was’? What happened?” Mark asked him with an unexpected worried tone, despite it sounding like hardware. Jack then looked at him with glassy eyes.

“I…He, he’s gone” Jack’s voice was quiet and low. Mark then turned Jack toward him and looked at his eyes. Mark then let go of Jack’s shoulders and walked toward the chair that Jack placed the shirt on, he then slipped it over his head. He was just about to say something before Jack started first.

“Mark.” Jack then faced toward Mark with a stone face. “I don’t want to talk about this” Jack told him with more force than what was needed. But just as Jack was about to walked toward the kitchen, Mark grabbed his shoulder. Jack then stopped.

“Although I wasn’t going to ask about him, I know that you are thinking about him.” Mark then said in a matter of fact-ly. “I just want to tell you that it’s okay”   

-.-

_“I-I messed it up, I messed up everything!” Jack yelled as he paced around the room. He then stopped to roughly rub his temples. “I CAN’T DO ANYTHING RIGHT!” His husband then sat up from his seat on the kitchen counter and walked toward the pacing Irishman. He grabbed his shoulders from behind and turned his around. He looked toward Jack making brown and blue clash, his husband then pulled his into a rough but then soft, warm embrace._

_“Hey” Mark’s deep, and kind voice rumbling through Jack’s ears. “So what you didn’t get it right this time. I promise you that you will make your projects fully functional and ready to use, just stick to your work and don’t pressure yourself.” Mark then pulled away to once again look into the others eyes. “It’s okay”_

-.-

“Jack?” Mark snapped Jack from his train of thoughts. “What do you want me to do?” Jack then shook his head from side to side and sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought of an answer.

“For now, learn” Jack replied to him with a smile on his face as he left to get something. He then returned to find Mark sitting on the couch. He softy sighed as he walked toward the robot. He handed Mark a black notebook with a pen and pencil. “Here, you can write or draw anything you want with this.” Jack smiled as he almost caressed Mark’s face before walking back up to his room. He took off his lab clothes and replaced them with sweatpants and a red long sleeve. He walked towards his bed and sat.

 _What am I doing? It’s not really him_. Jack told himself.

  _It’s just a…copy_. Those thoughts then started to plague his mind.

  _He’s not really here. He’s just a piece of hardware_. And every thought that he had, tears started to flood his eyes, thought after thought was a another tear that slid down his cheeks and down to his chin. He then forced himself to snap out of it by shacking his head and walked out to the living room, wiping the tears from his face and eyes. He then looked up to see his creation sitting on the couch, writing on the notebook that Jack forgot that he gave him. Jack sighed as he started to walk towards the robot. He looked over Mark’s shoulder to see what he was drawing and/or writing. He then saw his robot drawing a comic, a comic that was about space and time, from what Jack could see.  
“Mark” Jack murmured. “Go to sleep” Jack told him, he then put the notebook to the side of him and dipped his head. Jack then turned around to start too walked back to his room, hearing what sounded like a machine starting to slow down.

 _If I knew that it was a copy, why did I make it?_ The thoughts came back. He then walked to his bed and laid down on it, without the duvet.

 _I miss him._ He then thought, letting a single tear slide down the side of his face.

A nightmare then welcomed Jack into its trap that night…


	2. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack has a nightmare

_Jack woke up to a beautiful, smiling face in front of his, he smiled back._

_“Good morning” His husband hummed. Jack then leaned toward him and pecked Mark on the lips._

_“Top o’ the mornin’ to ya” Jack joked. Mark then chuckled as he left to leave the room, which Jack whined at._

_“I’m just going to make breakfast” Mark jokingly reassured him. “Ya want anythin’?” Mark mocked Jack’s Irish accent._

_“Oh, don’t do anythin’ like that now, ya big bollocks” Jack replied in a thinker accent, which Mark laughed at as he left the room.  
Jack sat up and stretched his arms over his head. He stood up from the bed and started to walk towards their kitchen. He immediately heard bacon sizzling, and then smelling when the smell graced his nose. He then walked over to the bar and sat down on one of the seats, resting his chin down on his left hand, and admiring his husband. Mark then turned around and set a plate in front of Jack and then one in front for himself. _

_“The bacon is just the way you like it, crispy on the outside, and chewy on the inside” Mark smiled as he eat a piece of scrambled eggs. Jack’s eyes then shined with joy as he stuffed his face with bacon and a little bit of eggs mixed in._

_“How many times have I told you that I love you?” Jack asked through his stuffed cheeks._

_“Um…” Mark hummed as he put a finger on the side of his face, acting like he was thinking. “I don’t know, I lost count.” Mark chuckled. “How many bandages did have you used from falling for me?”_

_“Way to many, I think we have to restock” Jack laughed as he finished off his breakfast and made his way to their room to get dressed._  
He was just about to leave his room until Mark walked up and leaned on the door frame.  
“What is it?” Jack asks, Mark doesn’t lean on door frames unless he needs to tell Jack something.

_“I’m thinking of dying my hair back to its original color” Mark told him running his fingers through his red hair. Jack then gasped, like Mark just offended his family’s honor. “Oh come on, it’s getting long and I’m kind of getting sick of the dyed hair” Jack then gasped louder than the first, but then he went to his resting face._

_“Okay” Jack said as he grabbed his hoodie. Mark’s eyes then widened, and he made his back face Jack as he crossed his arms and huffed._

_“I thought you were going to fight for my hair, I thought you were going to say something like” Mark then faced back to jack and then started to make his voice unbearably high and light. “Oh Mark, my prince! Don’t dye your hair back to normal, its fine the way it is! Please don’t! OH all that is holy, PLEASE DON’T DO IT!” Mark then collapsed to his knees, and started to crawl toward Jack, hugging his legs. “Please! I beg of you!” Mark then started to fake sob into Jack’s legs._

_“Okay, okay, I won’t dye my hair back” Jack said with sass. Mark then stood up from where he sat and glared Jack in the eyes._

_“I see what you did there” Mark snarled with an over exaggerated grump face. Jack then laughed as he walked passed Mark and made his way out the door, making Mark’s gaze follow him._

_“Come on, we’re going on a picnic” Jack hummed. “And we’re going to take one last picture before you go and dye your hair back.” Jack said with hand gestures._

_Jack then appeared back in his lab, working on his project with a smile on his face. He went to his computer and started typing in a programing code._

_He then got a call._

_He dropped what he was doing then and there, he ran toward his car. And as he did so, everything suddenly went silent as he sped through the streets not stopping for anything._  
_He parked his car in the hospital’s parking lot and ran out as fast as he could, he ran through the halls and past the doors, until he came on room 112. He stopped at the door. He then started to hear a faint ringing as he saw the doctors…He saw the doctors put a body in a body bag. He then saw the ring finger on the body, the ring was gold with engravings on it, he then saw the hair of the body, and it was black with a bit of bright red in it…It was Mark. Jack slowly stepped away from the door, his eyes wide and filling with tears. He then made his way to the doors and bolted out of them, he disregarded his car and ran back to his lab. Rain started to form in the clouds, it wasn’t heavy rain it was only sprinkling._  
_Everything went black, and then a light hit his eyes as he burst through the doors to his lab, his tear running down his face like a waterfall as he ran through the big lab. He went to his table where he had been working. Without thinking, he ran toward his tools and found a sludge hammer, he grabbed it and darted toward what he had been working on. Through rage and sadness, he lifted up the hammer and slammed it down on his creation. Smashing it into pieces, smashing some of his equipment along with it. He then snapped back into reality, looking at the damage he had caused, he dropped the hammer and collapsed down on his knees, burying his face into his hands as he screamed._

Jack then woke up to cold hands on his shoulders. He then opened his eyes to see his husband, he draped his arms around Mark and sobbed into his shoulder-

 _Wait, no._ Jack thought as he pulled away to see his creation, looking him over.

“What are you doing in here? I thought I told you to go to sleep last night” Jack sighed as he wiped his face of any tears.

“I did as you asked, but I woke up when I heard screaming. So I went to investigate” The robot replied. “Why did you scream?” Jack then looked toward him, suddenly remembering why he made the robot that was standing before him. When he made up the idea, all of his focus went into that, and he guessed that he was just so invested in it that he forgot the reason behind it. He wanted to make Mark proud. But now, he doesn’t remember why he was trying to make his previous projects work, all he wanted was to make Mark happy, when he knew how to make fully functional personal assistants, he could go to trying to make virtual reality with just contact lenses, and then he could show Mark what it would be like in space.


	3. I...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm serious, it's been such a long time since the last update, and I am SO SORRY. Stupid writers block was just like, 'You wanna write a new chapter? I DON'T THINK SO!' So, yeah..........BUT! I do hope you enjoy :D 
> 
>  
> 
> (P.S..........I'M SORRY)

“I did as you asked, but I woke up when I heard screaming. So I went to investigate” The robot replied. “Why did you scream?” Jack then looked toward him, suddenly remembering why he made the robot that was standing before him. When he made up the idea, all of his focus went into that, and he guessed that he was just so invested in it that he forgot the reason behind it. He wanted to make Mark proud. But now, he doesn’t remember why he was trying to make his previous projects work, all he wanted was to make Mark happy, when he knew how to make fully functional personal assistants, he could go to trying to make virtual reality with just contact lenses, and then he could show Mark what it would be like in space.

“I don’t remember” Jack lied. “You can go now, I don’t need you at the moment” Jack grunted as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked out of the room passing his creation and made his way into the kitchen. He walked into the kitchen and leaned over the sink, he ran the faucet. He cupped his hands and placed them under the cold water, splashing it on his face.

_Don’t think about him…_

He then heard steps from behind him that were walking in the living room that neighbored the kitchen. He really doesn’t want to look at Mark right now, he misses his husband too much to look at his copy. Even though the robot has his face, it’s not him. He wants it to be him, but in reality, it’s not.

He hears footsteps on the wooden floor.  
He wipes the access water off of his face and turns toward the piece of technology.

“May I ask you a question?” Mark asked, he slowly lifted his head that was staring at the floor previously. He looked like he wanted an answer to something, but he was too afraid to ask. Jack had forgotten that he programmed for Mark to be able to feel emotions, he guessed that Mark was just getting used to them. Jack nodded his head as he leaned on the sink that was behind him.   
“I have done some thinking in this short time” Mark started. “And I just wanted to ask, what was your reason for creating me? You haven’t given me a task something similar to chores or anything that could I could do to help you. So, why did you create me? What was the reason?” Jack was surprised at the question, did he expect something else?

“I…” what was he supposed to say? What could he say that Mark could understand? He took a breath. “I’m working on robotics, robotics to sell to a company. So I can be successful in what I do” Jack answered bluntly going with his first intentions of creating his tech. He walked toward the door, but Mark raised his arm to block Jack from walking out of the room.   
“Mark-.”

“Are you going to sell me?” Mark asked, not looking at Jack’s eyes. “Or are you going to replace me with a better model?”

Jack was caught off guard, Mark’s tone was a genuine question, but it was a little fear and worry. Mark was here for only two days, why was he acting like this?   
“Go get me my phone, I need it. It’s on my bedside table” Jack really didn’t want to answer Mark, he didn’t know what to answer with.   
Mark’s arm fell down, he walked out of the kitchen and then toward Jack’s room.  He walked toward the table and picked up the phone, a sudden urge to unlock the phone filled him, he pressed the home button and showed the lock screen. The same man that was in the picture on the mantle was in the picture, but this time, Jack wasn’t in it. But this time, he had black hair and he was younger. He had a little smile on graced across his face with a beanie resting on his head. He had a white shirt on with sweatpants. He had his phone in his right hand and the other resting on the back of the sofa that he was sitting on.   
It seemed like he was much more than a ‘friend’ like Jack had said. The screen then faded to black. He walked out of the bedroom and toward the living room where Jack was sitting on a chair, with his head resting on the back of it. Mark walked toward him and placed the phone down on the armrest.

“Here’s your phone” Mark said to him. Jack grabbed his phone and lowered his head to look at it.

“Thank you” Jack replied as he unlocked him phone. Mark shouldn’t ask about his ‘friend’ again. Mark then sat down on the sofa that was placed by the chair Jack was sitting on.

Jack looked at his messages. He had 10 new messages.

Robin: Hey, are you okay? We haven’t talked since the funeral two years ago. And how is the robotics going?

Wade: Sean, I haven’t checked up on you in a long time, how have you been?

Felix: Are you okay? It’s been about two years since we talked.

Felix: I’m always here to talk to you

Jack knew that the others would be the same, asking about his health or safety, or just asking if he was okay. It was heartwarming to see, that people still thought about him, still worried about him. As much as he hates to admit, he hasn’t thought about them in a long time, not since Mark’s…Jack started to tear up at the thought. He wanted to see him again, he wanted to talk to him again, he wanted to feel his hand in his, He…  
Jack sat up from his seat and moved toward the couch that his robot was sitting on. He sat by Mark, hearing the hum of Mark’s insides and feeling the warmth radiating off of him. He wanted to do something, anything, but it didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like it was the right time. He then stood up from the couch and made his way into his office.

He opens up Skype and calls Felix…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO DID YOU LIKE IT? I didn't....I'm serious, one of the reasons I wrote this was to hopefully get over writers block, and...I don't know if I did or not. I'm not satisfied with this chapter, it could've been a LOT better, but I just don't know how to make it better, but I hoped you liked it! 
> 
> Okay, so I have decided that I'm going to upload every Friday or somewhere around that time. I NEED to make a deadline, because if I have a deadline, it pushes me to write so...  
> But I really do hope you enjoyed. 
> 
> But until the next chap, SEE YA!! :D


	4. A Talk With An Old Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He needs someone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK! (I did it!)   
> YAY! But, anyway, enjoy!

“Jack! Hey how are you?” Felix asked. Jack looked back at him with a pained expression on his face. Felix’s expression then changed to worry. “What do you want to talk about?” He added with a comforting voice.

“Felix…” Jack began. He took a breath and slowly breathed out. “I finally did it” His best friends’ eyes widened as he leaned on his end of the video chat.

“Dude, congratulations!” Felix exclaimed with a bright smile on his face, but it then faded away as he saw the other look that was on Jack’s face.   
“Is there something you haven’t told me the last time we met?” Jack then looked up. That’s right, he hasn’t told anybody about Project – Bring Back since he’s been working on it. What should he tell him? _‘Felix, I’ve been working on a different project to make a clone of my dead husband because I don’t want him to leave me, and he’s sitting on my couch right here and now. Do you want to see him? Oh and, don’t ask him things about himself or about me,_ because he doesn’t know who he is’ Jack mentally sighed as he faced away from the screen. He then took a breath, looking back toward the screen.

“Felix…” Jack paused to think about his words. “I didn’t continue with my idea, I… When Mark had…Died, I totally trashed that idea and started on a new one” Felix’s eyes then widened, but he didn’t say anything, urging Jack to go on.

_Oh, fuck it…_

Jack then took in a harsh breath. “Felix, when I found out that Mark had died I ran back to my lab, smashed my original projects out of anger and started with a whole new one. I got to work on it immediately, and since then I haven’t talked to anybody because I wanted…I-I wanted” He looked down into his lap, staring at his hands that were resting in the center. Tears then started to fall off of his cheeks and onto his hands. “I wanted to-to, bring…I wanted to bring him…” Jack’s breathing then became uncontrolled and uneven. He then took a minute to recover. He breathed in- and out. “I just didn’t want to be alone…”

Felix then stared. Felix rarely saw Jack this distraught about something. “Jack” Felix quietly began. Jack slowly lifted his head up and the two made eye contact. “I’m going to America. I’m going to be more comfortable when I’m in the same room with you.” Felix with took out his phone and started tapping.

“Felix you don’t have t-.”

“Sean” Felix said seriously. “I haven’t seen you since the funeral, that was two years ago. And you suddenly call me up. The both of us are like brothers, I can’t see you in this sort of mental state. Now I’m going to go overseas whether you like it or not” Felix then finished. “I’m going over in two days.” Felix then told him in a more gentle tone. Jack breathed out a laugh.

“When you _do_ come over” Jack then looked toward the door that was behind him and then he directed his gaze back toward Felix. “Mark is going to be around the house, so, is he asks you any questions. Act normal and answer like you would to any other sort of tech. And don’t say anything about me and Mark, I don’t know how he’ll act if he like ‘remembers’ who he was so” Jack then sighed. “Just be careful about what you say around him” Felix then agreed and the both of them said their goodbyes and they both signed off. Jack spun in his chair about halfway around and stood up and started to walk towards living room once more.

He then saw Mark, holding a notepad in his left hand and he was drawing something. Jack walked over towards to where Mark was sitting. But before he could see, Mark stood up from where he sat and turned around to face Jack, with the drawing facing his stomach so that Jack couldn’t see. He then looked at what he had drawn and flipped it over to show Jack.

“Here” Mark said as he placed the drawing into Jack’s hand. It was the picture that was on Jack’s lock screen. And it was, rather good. It wasn’t perfectly realistic, it was in Mark’s own style, and he even shaded it. “When I was getting your phone, I looked at the lock screen.” Mark added as he looked at Jack’s reaction. He looked up from the drawing and made eye contact with Mark.

“Why did you look into my phone without asking?” Jack asked him with an unhappy expression.

“I was curious” Mark quietly replied. “I hope you don’t mind, t-too much” Jack’s eye’s then widened and Mark’s drawing dropped to the floor.

 _Why did Mark’s speech falter?!_ Jack had exclaimed in mind. _And why did his tone sound a bit afraid and worried?_

“Is there something w-wrong?” Mark asked as he looked Jack in the eyes. Was Mark going to malfunction? Jack took Mark’s hand in his and walked toward his computer room.   
He booted up his computer. He then plugged a cord up to Mark’s neck and opened the files that popped up on screen. He opened up a virus/malfunction search, but it was being slow to open.

_What’s wrong with this?_

The files son closed and Mark reached behind his neck and unplugged himself from the tech.

“I am not malfunctioning” Mark told Jack firmly as he faced him. Jack stared up at him, what was going on?   
“If you remember correctly, you programmed an ‘emotion’ file onto my hardware. What you witnessed earlier was me showing one of those ‘emotions’. I was worried that you were going to get mad at me, so I accidentally stuttered. I don’t know why you have programmed me with these files, did you want me to be Human?”

“Um…” Jack started. He did forget that he programmed that file into mark, why didn’t he remember that? “In a sense, yes, I did want you to be a little bit ‘human’” Jack’s eye furrowed.

“I know that you have not told me everything you can, and I understand that there are some things you are not comfortable telling me” Mark added, he then faced away from Jack and toward the door. “If you need me to assist you in doing something, or if you have any tasks you need me to do, I’ll be in the living room” When Mark left the room, Jack turned toward the door and giggled.

_He says ‘room’ the same way that he used too._

He loved how he paid attention to detail when he had made Mark. He then rubbed his neck as he started to walk towards out of his office, slightly dragging his feet as he walked.

Jack suddenly had a strong urge to give Mark a task, or just to say anything to him. He didn’t notice it before, but talking to Mark, wasn’t like talking to his husband, it was like talking to a whole new person. He hated it. He hates this feeling, he hates not being completely comfortable to talking with someone, it’s always been easy for him to talk to people, but this time was different. This time, he has the thought in his head that Mark can feel emotion, so he just doesn’t want to make Mark feel something, negative.

“Mark” Jack’s voice slightly broke at the end. He didn’t even notice that Mark was sitting at the kitchen bar. He turned around in the chair and faced toward Jack.

“Yes?” Mark replied. But this time was different, it sounded like Mark, _his_ Mark. His eye brows were slightly lifted, mouth grinning, and his tone sounded cheerful, like Jack’s voice was sweetly sounding music.

“I just wanted to tell ya that a friend is coming over in about two days” Jack added with a steadier voice. “I just don’t want you to overwhelm him with questions” Jack finished as he made his way toward the kitchen to put on the coffee, just to find that the coffee was already brewing.

_Mark._

“What is his name?” Mark asked as he turned around in his seat again to face Jack. “If you don’t mind me asking”

“Felix, he’s a good friend of mine” Jack answered. He then looked toward Mark’s face. What was he thinking?

“I know I haven’t met him, but I have images of his face” Mark mumbled. He then made eye contact.  
“How-.”

“I put some people that I know in your data” Jack answered. _People that you knew_   
Mark then replied with a short hum and then pointed toward the coffee maker.

“The coffee is done” Mark mumbled.


	5. Blocked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is happy for a change!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My legit reason for not writing is that I got hooked on watching supernatural...And now I can't escape.
> 
> But, enjoy!

Jack fluttered his eyes open due to the sunlight leaking into the windows. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and slightly jumped off of the bed, just to find that he had a slight spring in his step and that he was immediately greeted with a little more energy than usual in his average mornings. Which he thought was very odd, he wasn’t a morning person –even though he really wants to be- and that he hasn’t got a good night’s rest in almost three years.

He didn’t complain, he was just curious about his body’s sudden happiness. Maybe it was because his project worked? No, he can’t kid himself, it was most likely because Mark was developing emotion, and that he could feel again. But then his thoughts flowed back into his mind, the thoughts about Mark not actually not being _his_ Mark, _his_ husband.  
He soon ignores those thoughts and thinks of new ones as he walks into his bathroom and starts to brush his teeth and then combed his hair a few times with his fingers.

_Mark can feel emotions, He can read emotions, He’s learning, it’s going to be okay._

He soon looked in the mirror and left the room. He walked into the living room and saw Mark in the kitchen, leaning on the fridge with his arms crossed on his chest.

“What’re you thinkin’?” Jack hummed as he walked in and picked up a coffee mug that was in a cupboard and then pouring himself some coffee that Mark must’ve made that morning. He looked up at Mark and watched him lift off of the fridge.

“Are you sure that you want to know?” Mark asked quietly with a more ‘troubling’ look. “You might not be pleased”

“Um…” Jack drug on. “How long have you been awake?” Mark’s expression didn’t change. “Sure, tell me”

“I was searching in my data bases for your ‘friend’ that you won’t talk about” Oh… Jack took a deep breath in… “You said that you put people that you know-.” And breathed out. “In my data base, you know that man. Why can’t I find him?” Why does he have to ask these kinds of questions?

“It crossed my mind” Jack’s voice faltered a bit at the end. What is he supposed to say? “I was too busy with other programing to add him in” Again, Jack’s voice faltered. He then took a drink of his coffee before he looked up at Mark. Mark’s response was a pondering look and then he left the room.

Here’s a question that Jack asked himself, what would happen if Mark somehow finds out? What if he finds out that _he_ was the one is the pictures? What is he finds out that his husband destroyed all of his work just to bring him back? What would be his reaction? Would he even remember who Jack was to him? Jack didn’t know what to do if that happened, he wouldn’t know how to react.

_Well, the happy attitude was good while it lasted._

Jack sat the mug down on the counter and left the room, passing Mark who was sitting on the couch.

-.-

Jack sat there, looking at his monitor with a blank expression; thinking about what he was going to do next. He had left Mark to watch the house while he went off to the lab to somehow get some work done.

But he started having second thoughts when he sat down in his office chair, which was about three hours ago now. He had paced around his lab, he had looked over his files, his notebooks, his papers, and he even looked over his little yellow sticky notes that he placed around the lab when he had worked open mindedly about three years ago. He hated not coming up with new ideas that he could do. Finally being fed up with it, he stood up from the chair, grabbed his bag, walked out of his office, and left toward home.

He opened the door to see his living room was missing a certain machine that he knew that was writing on a notebook when he had left.

“Mark?” Jack calls out as he steps in the house. He was then greeted by footsteps, and then a familiar face. “What did you do when I was gone?” It took a second for Mark to reply.

“I wrote out ideas” He began as he walked closer. “Then I researched on various things that the internet could give me”

“Which was?”

“Did you know that Female kangaroos have three vaginas?” Jack got caught off guard, he then looked to Mark with anybody who saw knew that he was questioning Mark’s programming. He then shook it off and went to change the subject.

“No I didn’t know that, Mark” Jack then changed his expression into a smile. “Both of us are going walking out in a park” Jack said to Mark as he went passed Mark and into his room. He then turned around. “There should be some clothes in the guest room that you should be able to fit in” Jack then rushed up stairs, hearing more footsteps from behind.  
He opened the door to his room and stepped in. He walked over to his dresser and picked out a pair of slightly worn out skinny jeans alongside a red long sleeve. He took off his work clothes and put the ones that he picked on, and then he slipped on a pair of black converse, grabbed his phone, and went down stairs just to be greeted by Mark already being done and waiting for him.

He was wearing a white shirt with a floral design on the shoulders, along with black jeans and a pair of black converse with gold lining the bottom. He was standing near the door when Jack walked in.

“Why are we going to the park?” Mark asked when Jack approached. “It’s not the right weather for it”

“I know” Jack said as he opened the door. “I just want to go out today” The both of them then walked out of house, just to feel a cool breeze meet them.


	6. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark doesn't like this feeling...

Mark was greeted with a cool breeze as the both of them walked out of the door and onto the streets. He really didn’t know how to exactly act, so he thought he would follow Jack’s lead.

There was no talking whatsoever when they walked, Jack didn’t say exactly why he wanted to the park, and Jack didn’t tell him why he needed to come in the first place either.  
Mark looked around. He saw a couple pushing a stroller down the street across from the one they were walking on, and he also saw another couple walking down the same street they were walking on, but at least twelve steps ahead. The couple were holding hands and as Mark could see, they both have warm smiles on their faces.  
That’s when he felt something inside of him, like it was in pain. Like emotional pain, or withdrawal from something. And what was strange about it, that it was located in his chest; were his main engine was placed. He quickly did a search if there was an error, and there was none to be found. He didn’t know what to think or what to do, so he didn’t say anything about it and just kept his composure as the both of them kept on walking down the street.  
He then looked toward Jack, to see if he had a troubling expression; Mark had told himself.

The feeling was back, but it was stronger than the last. He then had the feeling that something was wrong, something was not as it should be, and that strange feeling was toward Jack. What was it? It wasn’t a look different from before, it was normal. But Mark knew that was wrong, he knew there was something that should change about it. He couldn’t place it, maybe something was off about Jack’s clothes?

Mark checked for a reason that could be related to his clothing, but he found none.  
Maybe it was because he wanted to see his friend? No, that wasn’t the reason. Maybe he isn’t comfortable with me beside him? No, Mark knew for a fact that _that_ was the reason, he refused to let that he the answer, Jack would’ve left him home if that was the case. Maybe it was because he kept troubling him with questions about his friend in the picture? That didn’t quite feel like the right answer, but the answer had something to do with his ‘friend’ Maybe it was-...

Mark then looked toward the couple again, and then back at Jack. His expression, his, ‘normal’ expression, he has a resting frown that unnerved Mark ever since he first saw it. Like he just felt like it didn’t belong, he felt like it wasn’t supposed to be his natural resting face.  
But the frown wasn’t a natural frown, it wasn’t a normal frown. It was a frown that only belonged to a person that felt true pain, that felt true misery, someone that had felt true anger, and now that frown is the aftermath of all of those negative emotions.   

He then looked back and the couple again and then back at Jack.

The couples eyes, they were filled with true happiness, were filled with true bliss, and their eyes were bright and joyful…But Jack’s eyes, they were filled with sorrow, they were filled with grief, and they were drained of any light or happiness that they were ever filled with. They were filled with true heartbreak. And worse of all, it started to grow on him, it started to take over all of his emotions, and it started to take over his life as well.

Something about that made Mark’s chest ache, it made his inner being weep, it made his programming go against what the computer had told it to do. It had made his computer programmed emotions break down and mourn because he did not like that look on Jack’s face, he wished he could do anything to change it, to make his eyes back to what the once were, even though he did not know what they were like before. But one thing is for certain, he didn’t like this feeling in his chest, he did not like that ached, he did not like that he didn’t know how to fix it.  
But another question crossed his mind, why didn’t he react like this before? He noticed it, he noticed that Jack had a bit of an odd frown and something wrong with his eyes, but why didn’t he react the same as he does now?

Before he could actually answer those questions, they entered the park. He was greeted his the smell of lilacs and the aftermath smells of rain.

He walked away from Jack’s side to look at some flowers that were growing at a base of n oak tree that was growing in the center of the park: It had branches that stretched out in all directions, creating shade for anyone who would need it.  
Mark marveled at how many flowers had bloomed, how colorful they were, and how happy that all looked. They could bring a warm smile to anyone’s face. It had started to bring a smile on his face, he had noticed. He liked how everything smelled, he liked how peaceful everything was, he liked how everything was happy was bright. But another thing that he noticed was that almost nobody was there, which was a shame because there should be more eyes looking at the flowers, there should be more smiles graced on people’s faces. But, nobody can have everything, so the flowers just have to wait until people notice how beautiful they all are. He then looked back at the little garden that was surrounding the tree and looked at all of the different kinds of flowers.

He looked at the hollies, at the hollyhocks, at the daisies, at the hibiscus’, at the tulips and he looked at the Forget-Me-nots.

_Hmm, forget-me-nots._

He smiled when he looked at the blue flowers, like there was something about them that made his chest warm up with joy.  
He held a bunch of the little flowers in between his fingers, but he didn’t pick it. He gently brushed the petals with his thumb as his chest began to get warmer, and as the smile on his face grew bigger.  
He let the little bunch of flower go and then turned around-…

The warmth in his chest? Shattered. The smile on his face? Broken. All of the nice thoughts about the flowers? Forgotten.  
All of that happened when he looked back at Jack’s face, all of it disappeared when he remembered how broken Jack had looked. And it just made him, angry. It had made his angry that he didn’t know what Jack had been through to make him like this, and hated that he had the feeling like it was his fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE FEELS!  
> UGH.  
> (I make myself cry sometimes)


	7. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why..?

Mark’s look that he gave Jack when he looked at him unnerved Jack. The look that he gave Jack was like somebody just told him the most heartbreaking thing he had ever heard of. Why did he have that look? Whatever it was, Mark changed it when he stood up from his crouching position to walk over to the bench Jack was sitting on. He sat beside him and slightly sighed out through his lips when he sat.

“Are you okay?” Jack asked him with a slight look of worry. All Mark did was hold out his fist toward Jack and opened it. What Mark had shown him made his heart feel like it was going to break, but it also felt like it was beating three times faster than it usually does. But that wasn’t all what Jack felt; he felt like he couldn’t talk because of the lump in his throat, his hands began to shake and his breathing altered. And he doesn’t even know if he was feeling like this from joy or heartbreak, and it didn’t help when he started to tear up. And he didn’t know if they were tears of joy, or sorrow. Mark then closed his fist and pulled it away.

“Jack?” Jack then looked up to Mark with tears rolling slowly down his cheeks. “Are you okay?” Jack wasn’t okay, he just got reminded of the best day of his life, the worst day as well. He got reminded of his wedding day…

-.-

_Jack was so nervous that he was almost convinced that he was going to implode. He stared at himself in the mirror, straightening his jacket and tie, this is the day. This is the day that he gets married to the most gorgeous, most kind, most loving person he’s ever met. And he’s getting married to him. He felt like he was going to have a breakdown at the altar, but he knows that if he does, Mark would be the one to get him back on his feet. But all he knew that there wasn’t going to be a day where he didn’t think about Mark and not smile, that’s for sure. He smiled as he picked up a small bouquet of forget-me-nots. People asked them why they chose those kinds of flowers to begin with, they thought that they would choose something like lilies, or roses, or daisies. But the reason why they both chose the little blue flowers was because it was a part of their vows, it told them that in the darkest of times, when one of them weren’t there, they wouldn’t forget them. If one of them were going to do something that was going to affect the other, they wouldn’t forget one another. If one of them was off doing something for their job or their business, and if they were going to get into any sort of trouble that would change their relationship, they wouldn’t forget them. And if one of them died, the memories that they shared wouldn’t be forgotten…_

-.-

Jack then looked away from Mark, not wanted to make any more eye contact with him, because he doesn’t want to know what would happen if he made contact any longer.

“We’re going” Jack somehow got out loud enough for Mark to hear without his voice cracking. He then stood up from the bench and made his way out of the gate, but waited to go any further without Mark at his side, or at least beside him. When Mark stood up and joined him, the both of them started walking back to the house in silence.

When Jack unlocked the door and walked into the house, with Mark following him from behind, he made his way toward his room. Mark was following him, but when he made it to his room, he slammed the door in Mark’s face and started to pace around the room with his hands rested of the top of his head, thinking.

_Just go out there and tell him why you’re upset_

He thought to himself as he paced.

_But If I do that, he’ll know what happened and I don’t want to know how he will act._

He didn’t want that to happen, he doesn’t want Mark to get upset, not more than he is now. He doesn’t want Mark to know how sad he’s been feeling. He doesn’t want Mark to know how miserable, or how pitiful he is in this state. He doesn’t want Mark to look at him with those worried eyes, he doesn’t want Mark to feel like he’s the one to blame, he doesn’t want to make him upset.

_But you’ll be even more miserable if you don’t tell him…_

He doesn’t want Mark to find out. He doesn’t want Mark to know. He doesn’t want Mark to worry. He doesn’t want Mark to feel that he’s the blame. He doesn’t want Mark to feel like it’s all his fault.  
He just doesn’t want Mark to be sad.

_Even though Mark is sad, and worried._

Those thoughts crossed his mind.

_But that’s not my Mark_

He keeps telling those kinds of thought that, that Mark that’s on the other side of the door is not _his_ Mark. He’s not _his_ husband. All he is is hardware.  
So why does he feel this way? Why does he feel like Mark is actually out there? Why does he feel that Mark is actually out there, worrying about him? Why does he feel like Mark is out there, right now, thinking that it’s his fault? Jack needs this resolved, **_now_**.  

In one fowl spin on his heel, Jack in walking toward his bedroom door, and opening it. He walks out of the room and into the hallway, but when he looks up, he sees Mark with his fist open, his eye brows furrowed, and his lips curved into a frown. He was looking at the little blue flowers.  
“Why did these flowers make you so emotional?” Mark asked. Jack stood there, not knowing what to say. He felt like he was going to break down in tears, like he was going to run into mark’s arms, just to find that he was actually crying into a robot’s chest.  
No, Mark isn’t here. Mark wasn’t ever here.

“I’m the one who’s supposed to be asking questions. Not you” Jack then walked toward Mark. He picked up the flowers, with a tears stained face, and crushed them. “Don’t ask me another question unless I say you can.” He then put the remains of the little flowers back in Mark’s hand, and turned his back on him. Why was he acting like this? Why did he crush his vows? Why did he-… “Throw them away, and go to sleep”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU GUYS! A lot of you guys seem to like it so far, and that can't make me happier (and here I am, writing an angst fic) But, once again thank you guys for it, it really means a lot to me. See you guys in the next chapter! 
> 
> Oh and, tell me how you like it so far, and where you think it'll possibly go. And also tell me if you've cried yet (I haven't...)


	8. Loss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was wrong with me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guess what? It's...EARLY! I had a LOT of motivation to write this for some reason. But hey, I get motivation, you guys get an early chapter, Win Win! 
> 
> Anyway, Enjoy the chapter! 
> 
> Oh and, if I get kind of distracted and post late, just blame one of the following: Legend of Zelda, Breath of the Wild, Friends (The TV show) supernatural, jacksepticeye, markiplier.  
> Blame those if I miss an update...
> 
> (If you've play BoTW, DON't SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE STORY OR ANYTHING. Pls)

What was wrong with me?

That was all he could think when he went up to his room after he snapped at Mark. That was three hours ago.

He regretted it, he regretted it so much. But he did it to prove a point to himself, ‘Mark is just a machine’ was what he told himself ‘he can’t truly feel, so why treat him like he does?’ He had thought that if he thought like that, it would help him. He thought that it could help with his metal state. But, he soon found out that he was dead wrong. It felt like regret was knocking loudly outside of his door, keeping him awake.

He turned in his bed, trying to get more comfortable in his unnerved state. But it didn’t help.  
But now, he thought that if he tried to stay awake, he would fall asleep faster, and he was right. Only a couple minutes later, he was soon asleep.

-.-

_He slowly opened his eyes and breathed out a shaky sigh. There wasn’t a dip in the sheets, there wasn’t warmth that was lying beside him, there wasn’t light leaking out of the windows, and there wasn’t a leaping feeling in his chest. Only dip that was in the sheets was caused by him, there was a cold breeze, there was shadows on the outside of the windows. Another night without the sleep he needed the most, another cold and lonely night. There was a hole in his chest, where he just felt nothing. Nothing. That wasn’t something he was used too. Sure, he had the money, had the fame that came with being a scientist, had a home, and had everything that went with it. But there was nothing in his chest. No leaping, no joy, no warmth, all it had was a beat. It had been a week since Mark had died. It had been a whole week of torture, a whole week of tears, a whole week of torment. And he hated it. He hated not waking up to a familiar face, he hated not feeling like someone was there to love him, he hated not being able to show true love. And the worst part? Mark was murdered. The police said that Mark went out for a walk, but a drunk bastard with a handgun shot him in the back, and then killed himself. The drunken bastard didn’t even pay for what he did, he didn’t even pay for what crimes he committed. When the police told him about this, it was a mixed feeling of anger and torment. Jack didn’t get angry all that often, but when he actually did, he would go in another room and breath. But ever since Mark’s death, there wasn’t even an option to go into another room and breath. He was so clouded by anger and rage and sorrow that he didn’t even let his normal thoughts in and get him through it. He didn’t even think straight._

_He just got angry thinking about it. But that feeling led to a memory that he had when he returned from the hospital because they had called him in. They told him what happened before the police officer came and told him the same thing. But another thing that made him angry that day, without explanation, was when he was waiting on a doctor to tell him what had happened, he overheard two, what he assumed, interns._

_‘You know Mark Mcloughlin? The guy who just died?’_

_‘The one that got shot? I know, I don’t think the doctor even tried to same him, they said that he was brain-dead even before they found him’_

_‘And they also said that the rest of him died out in the ambulance’_

_‘I feel so bad for the wife’_

_And right then and there Jack walked up the both of them and looked at the both of them, dead in the eyes, with the most lifeless, the most rage-filled eyes, the two had ever seen. He let his arms hang by the sides and his shoulders tense_

_‘Can we help you, Sir?’ One of them had said, trying to keep calm._

_‘Maybe it’s better if you keep your thoughts to yourselves. You never know who you’ll piss off’ He heard the doctor call for him. He turned his back to the both of them, but he before he left he said this. ‘And that’s putting it lightly’ He regretted going out on those two, it wasn’t his place to tell them how to act._

_He then turned over to hear his alarm going off. He set it to 5:00 because he knew when he had set it that he wouldn’t want to get out of bed, knowing that he wouldn’t have been able to sleep well._  
_He got out of bed, and walked down stairs into the kitchen. As he made his way into the kitchen, he stepped into the living room and he looked toward the mantel. He saw one of the pictures of him and Mark faced down, not showing the picture. He walked toward it, and took it. He looked down at the framed picture and saw the two of them. He saw Mark with a big grin on his face as he looked into the camera, his eyes were filled with joy and heat, and they were filled with his usual glow that always rested in them, so calming. He still had his red hair in this one, Jack had always joked around Christmas time that the two of them were like a Christmas present that life to them, don’t get him wrong, he knew it was cheesy as hell._  
_The corners of Jack’s lips twitched as he thought about it, but it didn’t form into a smile._

_He then looked toward himself, he too had a big smile on his face. His face was glowing and his eyes were filled with bright colors and joy. His hair was a mess and the color was slightly faded. He looked happy, nothing in the world would ever compare of how happy he was in the picture.  
He then looked back toward Mark. The both of them were so happy. The both of them were so peaceful. The both…_

_His thought were interrupted by tears falling form his face and onto the glass of the picture. He was interrupted by tears flowing down his cheeks, by his knees giving out, by his arms wrapping around the frame, and holding it to his chest._

_Why?_

_He had asked himself. Why me?_

_He couldn’t talk, he could barely breath, he could barely think straight over the sound of his thought of why? Being repeated over and over again._

-.-

Jack bolted up-right in his bed of his nightmare. He then looked down, there wasn’t a picture, there wasn’t Mark’s smiling face, there wasn’t…

_‘I need something to drink’_

He swung his feet over the side of the bed and walked out of his room, and then he walked down the stairs into the living room and into the kitchen. He took a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water. He placed it back on the counter when he finished it and looked down toward the small trash bin that was placed by the counter. He saw…He saw the Forget-Me-Nots. He saw the little flowers that he crushed, he saw the little, withered, flowers.

_‘Promise me you’ll never forget me?’_

He remembered Mark’s words, he remembered his calm, happy voice say on their wedding day.

_‘Promise, but you have to promise me the same’_

He remembered how nervous Mark was, he had remembered how nervous he was. He had remembered his happy movements.

“Promise” Jack had muttered as he looked at the crushed little flowers. He wanted to re-live that memory. He wanted to re-live being nervous, he wanted to re-live the jumpy feeling he had in his chest all day, he wanted to re-live Mark’s smile, he wanted to re-live the vows, he wanted to re-live the way Mark had talked to him before the wedding day even happened. So kind, so caring.

He let out a shaky sigh as he walked over to the robot that was standing by wall, asleep. He walked up to him and looked at his face. He looked at Mark’s rested expression, he looked like something was bothering him, which wasn’t something that surprised him. He then took Mark’s right hand in his and held it up to his cheek. He felt…Warm. It felt exactly like Mark’s own hand, like he was actually right there with him.

“Mark I-.” Jack took a steady breath. “I haven’t forgotten about you” He muttered as he let go of Mark’s hand and walked back to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that one? Was it good? Tell me? Maybe? Question Marks?


	9. Tears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark heard a voice...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early? Again?! I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED! And, I personally like this chapter, so enjoy?  
> READ ON!  
> (Again, enjoy?)

Mark heard a voice…

‘So-, you-you k-know the pro-ject tha-at I’m wor-working on?’ The voice was distorted and the pitch changed with every word, but he could make out the words. He then heard a faint buzz or a hum.  
‘Ye-yeah! Bu-but unfortu-tunately-ly, if fa-failed. Bu-t Hey-hey? Be-bett-er l-luck next-t time, right?’ The voice then stopped and an out of focus image appeared. The outline of the image showed an outline for a person. Mark couldn’t make out the face, but he could’ve sworn that he had seen the person before. Everything went black, and then it went back to normal, like he was blinking. But each time it went back to normal, the image got clearer. And the more it got clearer, the more he knew who it was. It was none other than Jack. But…

He looked happy.

His eyes were the same color, but, it was like they were shining with some kind of light. It’s like his eyes shone with something unbreakable, and without sorrow. His eyes looked like the first bloom of a flower; they were filled with grace and beauty that seemed to last forever, they were filled with a warm light that would make the gloomiest of days seem like the brightest of days. They seemed like they were glowing with hopeful, blue color. And it wasn’t just blue, it was a mixture of blues; from navy to light, from ocean to sky. So peaceful and warm.

And Jack’s smile, oh how joyful it was, how it made Mark feel like he was greeted with open arms. How he felt like he was treated with love, and security. He loved that look on the other man’s face, even though a plan did not go through the way he had hoped, he still had a smile, he still had joy. No rage, no anger, no sorrow, no negative feelings. Just, positive.

But, as any scene or image, it couldn’t last forever. It wouldn’t last.  
The whole scenario changed one of Mark’s very own memories appeared, it had changed, just like that. It was the memory back at the garden, when he had joined Jack on the bench. When he had shown Jack the little blue flowers.

He looked up from his hand and saw Jack look at the little flowers. All of the color from before, all of the hope or joy, all of the positivity. Gone. But, like any blooming flower, it withered. All of the beauty and hope? Was replaced with calamity. It all withered, as any flower would. It all died. It all shattered.

That made Mark mourn. That made Mark to want to take what had ever happened to Jack, and shatter it. He wanted to take it all in his hand, and break it. He wanted…He wanted him to be happy. He wanted Jack to smile that smile, he wanted him to re-grow the flower of positivity that grew inside of Jack’s personality. That lived inside of his smile. That hid inside his eyes. He just wanted it to bloom, just once. He wanted to see it. He wanted to see Jack happy, in his own eyes, in his own time.

-.-

Mark then started to slowly open his eyes, and to bring everything in focus. He looked around the room. Light flowed out of the windows, lighting up the room before him. He looked towards and clock: 6:35Am is what it read.

Before he could walk any further from where he was standing, he noticed something. He noticed a feeling. It was…Warm.  
He lifted a hand up towards his face and wiped away tears.

_Tears?_

Mark had thought.

_Why would I cry?_

He then thought. The memory. But, why would he be feeling this way toward it? Was he unnerved at the fact that he could even cry. Was Jack this serious about programming Mark into being a human? Was he this serious about detail? But if that’s the case, why did Mark cry? What in the memory caused him to cry? He then went back to the memory and…He didn’t want to. He didn’t want to see that memory again. He doesn’t want to see that memory ever again. It caused him so much unknown pain in unknown places.  
But. There was another feeling. A feeling of, insecurity? A feeling of, loneliness? Whatever is was, it left an uncomfortable feeling in his core. It left an uncomfortable feeling in his chest, making it spread. What was this? Was it caused by the memory?  
More tears fell. Why did he feel this way? Why did he cry? Why did he have to feel?

The feeling went deeper and deeper into him, making his more uncomfortable and a little afraid. The more that he thought about it, the more he cried. The more he felt these things, the more that he wanted something, but he didn’t know what he wanted. The more he felt this feeling inside of him, the more he didn’t care about his questions about why he was feeling this way. Now, all he wanted was for it to all stop. He wanted this feeling to stop. He hated this feeling. He…

He heard footsteps walking down the stairs at a slow pace. He was soon alert and wiped away his tears. He didn’t want Jack to see his feel this way, but he did want answers. When Jack appeared in the doorway, he had passes Mark in mid-yawn.

“Morning, Mark” Jack yawned as he was making his way toward the kitchen. Mark had mumbled a reply as he made his way over to the Irishman. He was about to ask him a question, but before he could, he remembered; ‘ _I’m the one who’s supposed to be asking question. Not you_ ’ Mark didn’t want to upset Jack. He walked up to him before he could go into the kitchen, and put his hand on the other man’s shoulder, and turned him around.  
Jack’s expression was filled with worry and confusion, but before he could say or do anything, Mark pulled Jack into him, and wrapped his arms around the other’s shoulders.

Mark felt Jack’s arm’s from both sides, not knowing what to say or do. Mark put his face on Jack’s shoulder, and faced it away, tightening his hold on Jack’s shoulders. He then felt tears prickle behind his eyes and he started to properly cry. He felt his tears run down his face, and he saw then land on Jack’s clothed shoulder.

Jack’s arms relaxed and they wrapped around the other. But what Mark didn’t expect was that Jack’s hold on his was tighter than Mark’s was. His grip was needier and more wanted than Mark’s was. Instead of feeling like he needed to be comforted by this action, he started to comfort Jack. Whatever happened to Jack, it made him need this without him even knowing it. The feeling in Mark’s chest then dissipated and his tears had stopped. But that wasn’t the same for Jack.

Mark held the other as he dug his face into the robot’s shoulder. He didn’t cry, but Mark knew that Jack needed this, maybe Jack had the same feeling as Mark did?

The two of them pulled back, and saw each other.  
Mark was then filled with a different kind of feeling. He was filled with warmth, the same warmth as from before, when he looked at the little garden. He had felt that because of what the other man in front of him did.

He smiled.  


	10. Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wait...Really?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, enjoy? Will you cry this time? I dunno.

Jack looked into the Robot’s eyes and saw Mark. And not the Mark that he created, _his_ Mark. He looked back into the man’s eye that stood in front of him and he saw his warm brown eyes. He saw his glossy, beautiful eyes. The eyes that loved Jack for who he is, not for what he is. His eyes look happy and peaceful. They look like they’re full of light and grace. He didn’t ever know how much he loved and admired his eyes until he was gone. But now, it truly seemed like he never left. It felt like time itself went back so that fate can correct itself. Those glossy…Wait, his eyes were, red? Why were they red?

“Mark” Jack began to say, looking more into the other’s eyes. “Are you okay?” He asked. Mark then changed his joyful expression into…Guilt? What would he be guilty about?  
It took a while for Mark to find words, but after a little while, he finally did.

“I…” He began, shifting his eyes from side to side, as if trying to hold back tears. “Is it alright if I ask you a question?”  
Jack’s joyfulness shattered at those words.

Jack didn’t feel like his Mark was here anymore, he didn’t feel like time had gone back. He didn’t feel like fate wanted to correct itself. Not anymore. He then remembered, ‘ _But that’s not my Mark’_ He remembered the things he had thought yesterday. He had remembered what he had felt, and he had remembered what he had said: ‘I’m the one who’s supposed to being asking questions. Not you’ He remembered what awful things he had said. ‘Throw them away, and go to sleep’ He had said those things to prove a point to himself, he had said those things to show himself that this thing that is standing in front of him is just a machine, not a person. He had said those things for himself, not for Mark.

_Stupid. So, so stupid._

Mark doesn’t deserve this, he doesn’t deserve any of it. He doesn’t deserve to feel this way, he doesn’t deserve to be yelled at. He doesn’t deserve to die. He doesn’t deserve to have these memories or feelings, it’s just upsetting him, and making him miserable. Jack shouldn’t have even made him in the first place. But he’s glad that he did. If he didn’t, where would he be right now? He would be working for some big company in a cubical, that’s what. But and the same time, Mark didn’t deserve this. He deserved to be living happily in his afterlife. He should be at peace. But Jack guesses that you can’t really be at peace when a drunken bastard shot you.

“Mark” Jack began to say. “You can ask me any questions, forget what I said to you yesterday. Just don’t listen to what I said yesterday” Jack forced a smile. Seeing that Jack was saying it genuinely, Mark started. As Mark told him why he was distressed, Jack’s thoughts went wild. As Mark told him about his memory from yesterday, and as he told him how he felt, Jack felt more and more regret. As he told Jack about how confused he was when Jack had snapped at him, how guilty he was for making Jack angry. And each word that Mark had said, made Jack realize how human Mark was, and how he needed to be treated like one. When Jack had heard the things from Mark, he finally got to understand him. And it reminded him of something too…

_Jack was walking through the dorm halls with his books tucked under his arm, making his way toward his own dorm. Today was when he was moving out. Today was the day that he was going to be on his own, doing what he loved most: Robotics. He loved how everything worked, he loved how accomplished he would be if his creation had worked. He loved all of it. He loved technology, and he just couldn’t get enough of it. So what did he decide to do? Specialize in robotics, of course. It had been surprisingly easy for Jack too. He was the top of his class, everything was easy for him, and he understood it all. But he thought, ‘Hey? Maybe there is actually something I won’t understand about technology along the road.’ The thought made him excited though, things that he didn’t understand meant learning._

_Jack was too caught up in his thoughts to notice someone walking toward him. The two of them collided with each other, and they both fell.  
Jack fell with a grunt before hearing one of the smoothest voices he had ever heard. _

_“Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was-.” The voice cut off when the two of their eyes met. Jack then saw brown eyes, black hair that was a little long, and he had a black shirt with normal blue jeans and Converse to go along with it. The look in the other’s eyes were wide and he was getting a little red in the cheeks as he stared at Jack._

_“S-Sean, right?” He had said. Oh right, this was Mark. The silent Mark that only talked to about three people or less._

_“Yeah” The Irishman grunted as he stood up grabbing his books as he did so. Mark was not even budging, he was just staring at Jack with the same expression. He offered a hand at the flustered student so he could help him up, Mark took it and his posture was a little shaky.  
“Um, you’re Mark, right?” Jack asked, cocking an eyebrow. Mark ducked his head down a little, like he hadn’t expected that at all. _

_“Yes, that, that’s me” The other answered quietly. There was an awkward silence between the two of them. What was Jack supposed to do? Was he just supposed to leave?  
“Can I ask you a question?” Oh thank god. _

_“Sure, go ahead” Jack said to him with a little smile which Mark mirrored a little awkwardly._

_“Don’t freak out or anything, just answer honestly, okay?” Jack didn’t know where he was going with this, but he nodded his head anyway. “Um...” It look a while for Mark to say it, but he finally did. “Will you go out with me sometime?” His words were a bit jumbled together, but Jack knew what he was trying to say. But then Jack got to thinking…Mark liked him?! Jack didn’t really pay attention to him all that much because he thought that he kept to himself and wanted to stay that way, and he had never would’ve thought that the awkward Asian would’ve ever liked him._  
Jack looked back at Mark with now wide eyes and a surprised expression. Oh god, he felt him cheeks heating up.  
“It’s totally okay if you say no! And it’s totally okay if you’re not into guys I just-.”

_“Yeah” Jack said, accidentally cutting Mark off._

_“What…Really?!” Mark had exclaimed looking toward the other with joy-filled eyes._

-.- 

It had reminded him of the time they had first properly talked to one another, and not just greetings and farewells.  
He had reminded Jack of when the shy Asian had been so flustered and nervous, so worried about Jack’s reaction, so full of emotion. He loved when Mark opened up when they first met, when he had taken a leap. He loved when…He loved when Mark used to comfort him, even though Jack didn’t show that he was uneasy; but somehow, someway, he knew. Mark saw through him like a new, clean window. But the difference between Mark seeing through him and the window was that  
Mark didn’t have anything blocking him from Jack, he didn’t have any glass walls, nothing. But now, Jack could see through _Mark’s_ glass. But somehow, it didn’t feel like it was clear. It felt like it was unbreakable glass, glass that was all cluttered and fogged so he couldn’t see. But he could clean the window and see through Mark, maybe he could even break it?

When Mark finished telling Jack about what he ‘remembered’ or ‘dreamed’, Jack couldn’t help but notice the look in Mark’s eyes. The look that told Jack that Mark held back what he wanted to say, and like that thing was a part of what he was feeling. Even though Jack did care, even though he was curious, he didn’t mind that Mark was keeping something from him. For once, he didn’t care that the other was hiding something from him, that his own creation was hiding something from him. For once, he thought that Mark just wanted to think through it, or he just wanted to understand it.

But then Jack noticed another look, it was a look that the robot would have when he wanted to ask Jack something, a curious, worried expression.  
“What is it?” Jack asked him with a surprisingly hushed tone. “Do you want to ask me something?” Mark suddenly looked up and stared into Jack’s eyes. He then slowly made his eyes toward the floor, looked toward his feet.

“I was actually going to ask you something but…” Mark paused, Jack has a thought about what Mark’s going to ask him. “Why did you get so emotional over the Forget-me-nots?” Mark asked. That was the question he knew the robot was going to ask. What would be his reply? Jack didn’t know. But he had to answer it. “Was it something that had to do with your friend in the pictures?”

“The flowers” Jack began, suddenly noticing that his gaze was directed to his feet, looking like it was the most entertaining thing on the planet to him. But he suddenly, slowly, looked back up toward the other. “The flowers remind me of him. And when I’m reminded of him, I get emotional…” Oh no, Jack was thinking about him again. He felt his gaze shift downward, he felt little pinpricks behind his eyes, he felt a tugging in his chest, he felt his shoulders starting to slightly shake, and he started to feel…Warmth? He then felt weight on his shoulders, he then felt heat radiate off of something, and he felt something in front of him.

Mark was hugging him. Mark was breaking the glass. Mark was…He was comforting him. Jack soon returned the hug and Mark pulled back to look into Jack’s blue eyes. A smile graced over Mark’s lips. _His_ smile.

“It’s okay” Mark murmured. And for once, Jack felt with no doubt…Happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the reason why I uploaded this early was because I'm going to my nana's and I don't want to miss an update.  
> So, I hoped you enjoyed?  
> And seriously, tell me what you think about it so far, I honestly don't know if people like this story, or if they're just saying that. (You don't have to comment, I'm just sayin)  
> But I hoped you enjoyed none the less!


	11. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix is here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS ISN'T AN APRIL FOOLS PRANK! I'M NOT GONE!  
> The people who saw the 11th chapter called 'I'm sorry' thought that I was going to stop writing this fic all together, NOPE. I just said that I was going to take a break from writing because I didn't see the people who I was writing about as characters anymore,m and I was going to take a break from writing until I see then as characters again. And at first, I thought that I was going to stop for about a half a year or longer.  
> But two particular people got me back in the game, and they were Mercedes and Septi-Spider-Plier-Pool, they were the ones that motivated me to continue writing, so thank them for this fic on continuing! But really, if you two are still reading, the only reason why I didn't reply was that I honestly didn't know what to reply with. And I didn't expect you two to leave such long and nice comments, (I never expect them when you two leave long comments) And the both of them had such support for me that I just felt guilt you not giving something back.  
> And I actually cried when I read both comments that it hit so hard with me. (And trust me, I don't cry that often) 
> 
> So, without further adieu, enjoy the chapter :)

“Mark” Jack murmured as he leaned forward on the counter. Mark hummed in response. Before Jack could continue, Jack moved away from the counter, and leaving the kitchen, making his way toward his room.  
“I should tell you, Felix is coming over her today. And just to make sure-.”

“Don’t ask many questions” Mark interrupted him to finish what he was going to say. “I remember. When is he coming?” Mark asked him with his neutral blank expression.

“I’m actually going to pick him up-.” Jack then looked at one of the clocks that he had placed around his house it read: 1:00. “I was supposed to pick him up at 1:30!” Jack exclaimed as he rushed toward his room to put on some suitable clothes other than his sweatpants and baggy T-shirt.  
He practically through himself at his dresser and just grabbed some reasonable clothes which were: ripped jeans, Bloodborne t-shirt, and an overwatch hoodie. Before he left his room, he grabbed his phone, wallet, keys, and rushed for the door. But before he went out the door, he quickly put on his black Converse, not bother tying them and scrambled with his keys to unlock the door.  
Before Jack ran out the door, he turned around.  
“Don’t mess up the house while I’m gone.” Jack said to Mark before dashing out the door and into his Cadillac ELR and drove off –What? His job pays off-. He didn’t want to piss off his friend more than he already has over the two years. He wants to at least be there for Felix.

-.-

When he made it to the airport, he almost threw himself out of the vehicle.

_1:29, shit._

He’s going to be late.

When he gets into the building, he looks around for his friend, but doesn’t see him. He then hears footsteps that sound like they’re trying to sneak, but failing miserably. Jack turns around to see the Swede straighten his bag-loaded back, and soon fixes his surprised expression to…Professional? Jack really doesn’t know.

“Jack” Felix said, acting like he’s from the Victorian era by his stature. “You’re late.” Jack then looks down at his watch.

It’s only 1:36… “A boss is never late, the world is just early” Jack replies, mirroring Felix’s body language, pulling it off better if Jack were to tell you.

“You’re copying wizards, now? I thought you only copied me” The two of them laughed for a bit before getting to Jack’s car, followed by a quiet car ride.  
Jack really didn’t how this was going to go, he didn’t even know where to begin to think to where it might go. Would the both of them just catch up and that’s it? No, Jack knows that to a T that that’s not where it’s going to go. He knows that Felix will get him to loosen up, to talk and to vent out about what had happened over the past two-three years. But can he really blame him for worrying? Jack would’ve done the same thing if Felix had gone through something like this for years. He understands that Felix has been worried about him, and he just wants to make sure Jack’s okay, but Jack really doesn’t want the conversation to start. He just wants the both of them to have a good time, but that’s not what Felix came all the way to America for: He came because he wants to help Jack through all of this, and that’s it.  
Another thing that Jack has been worrying about is how Mark will react to Felix and to what they will talk about, but he’s already thought out a solution for that.  
But, he does feel more and more guilty just by the thought of telling Mark to go to sleep, it feels like he’s telling one of his friends to go out of his house altogether.

They arrive at Jack’s house to find Mark sitting on one of the bar stools that was by the kitchen, looking over his notepad –which had doodles and writing all over it- When Jack looked back toward his friend, the color from his face had paled. Maybe Felix didn’t actually take it into consideration that Jack _actually_ made Mark. But once the both of them walked into the house, Mark stood up to greet the two: walking over towards Felix, but still leaving comfortable room between them. Mark looked up and down Felix, scanning all of the Swede’s features as he looked. But that caused Felix to tense, almost like he was a solder and that the captain was looking over him trying to find each and every flaw in his stature.

“You’re Felix, am I correct?” Mark asked him when he finished scanning.

“Y-yeah, you’re good” Felix stammered a bit at the beginning, but finally loosening up as he got used to the robot.  
“And you’re Mark, right?” Felix asked, trying to hide the fact that he already knew who/what he was. Mark made a slightly, confused look.

“Jack told you about me?” Mark asked, genuinely curious about it.

“Uh, yeah! He told me about you before I left for America.” Felix didn’t even acknowledge that Jack told Mark about him. All Mark did after that was nod, and then he turned toward Jack to speak.

“Do you want me to leave you both alone while you talk?” Mark asked Jack in a rather, emotionless expression. Jack didn’t expect him to already know that he needed to leave the two of them alone, Mark only existing for about four-five days now. Now that Jack thinks about it, how did he go through so many different emotions in less than a week, than he did in the past two years? And now that he thinks about it, did he do anything else besides working? The last two-three years have felt…Fast. The last few days have felt longer than the two years prior, a lot longer and a whole lot more emotional.

Jack nodded toward the robot then seeing him walk off towards the guess bedroom. The two of them, now alone without Mark, sit down across from each other in the living room.  
“It looks exactly like him” Felix murmurs.

“Well, when you’re by yourself for two years set to doing one thing, you tend to want to do it right” Jack huffed out a few laughs in between, trying to avoid the next questions, but failing.

“Is that all you did in the past years?” Felix shifted more toward Jack. And seeing Jack’s reaction, being slightly closed eyelids and furrowed eyebrows, Felix returned it with a more concerned look. “Did you even properly mourn?” No, he didn’t. The only time he mourned was when he wrecked his lab with all of the rage that he could ever muster. He didn’t ever sit down, and properly mourn. He never did that. And that wasn’t because of his work, it wasn’t that he was so distracted by his work, it was because Mark was gone. The reason that Jack didn’t act like himself, was because Mark wasn’t there to ground him. He wasn’t there to comfort him, to tell him that it was okay, and he wasn’t there to calm him.

Disregarding Felix’s question, Jack started to talk. “Every day felt like it was looping over and over. Every day felt like all I was doing was; Work, eat, work, go the sleep, repeat” Jack’s gaze then went to lap. “Every day felt the same: It felt like I was on autopilot, my body was doing all of the work while my mind was going blank with my own thoughts. And the only time I felt emotion was when I turned that switch on, and when I watched my project starting to work” Jack hasn’t vented in years, I guess this is what happens when you don’t acknowledge your feelings for really who knows how long. “And as the days went on and on, I started to think less and less of Mark, like all of the memories of him were going numb. And I didn’t even notice because I was too focused on just work-.” Jack’s voice cracked when he was done talking, he felt some tears escape from his eyes. God, he can’t get like this in front of Felix when they first got to his home.  
Jack wiped his tears, and directed his gaze toward the coffee table.

“Go on” Felix softly said to him. “I’m here to listen and to help, now go on” Felix reminded him. “How has ‘Mark’ been ever since you’ve activated him?”


	12. "So, um..."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I'm trying to figure out hoe to go along with the story, so that's why it's late, but I hope you guys would like Mark and Jack's first date for now? So, here's the fluff! 
> 
> Enjoy!

“So, um…” Mark stammered a bit, trying to find his words. He had wanted to leave a good impression for Sean, he wanted to seem like a good guy, but nope. It just angers him a bit though, the way that the two of them actually met each other. He had been so shy and bashful that he hated it. Don’t get him wrong, he’s always been kind of shy, but just being in front of Sean like that-. Just being around Sean naturally was intimidating. His gauges, his knowledge of technology, just him being on the top of the robotics class without a sweat. Mark had felt like he needed to think clearly about what he was going to say, how he was going to act, everything. Mark’s been like that, though. But it’s been a bit better lately, only a little bit though. Lately, he’s started a YouTube channel, and it’s been going good so far: His reaction compilation got trending on Reddit but that also led to hate coming to his channel. He wants to see that he’s actually a cool guy, but that just leads them shouting more hate at him. It’s honestly not that bad, it’s just a little annoying. But that’s beside the point here, he’s going on a fucking date with Sean! He’s got to make sure that the second impression in better than the last.   
“Is Robotics easy for you?” Jack leaned back in his seat, and then going back down to answer,

“Oddly enough, yeah! Somehow, it’s jus’ a breeze for me.” He took a drink of his coffee. “How is engineering going for you?”

“Uh, it’s going well enough. But I don’t really think it’s something for me” Mark said quietly at the end as he took a drink of his own drink. Oh no, it’s getting awkward, Mark can feel it, he’s got to talk about something.

“So, what do you do after school?” Jack suddenly says, what’s that supposed to mean? Mark does homework and…YouTube, oh no…

“W-What do you mean?” Why did Mark stutter? Why?!

“You’re always eager to go home, it can’t be _just_ homework that you’re worried about” Mark doesn’t really want Jack to know that he’s trying out YouTube, what if he starts watching his videos? That’ll be great, but it’ll also be a little embarrassing...Eh, Sean can watch if he wants too.

“I’m trying out YouTube, and I want to finish the videos a soon as I can” Mark accidentally mumbled, he hopes Jack heard it, and he did!

“That’s great! I thought about doing it, but I decided to invest my time into Tech” Jack answered with a wide and joyful grin. And from there, Mark was getting more comfortable in front of Jack, and he started to get less and less nervous over their little date. Mark didn’t know Jack would be this understanding and kind with him: He had expected him to go out with him because he wasn’t going to do anything that day, and he was going to be bored, he thought Jack would be smug and cocky.

It went surprisingly well, Mark was calm about it and before he knew it, Jack was walking him home. The walk there wasn’t awkward and weird. Despite it being night, Mark felt like he was glowing. The whole atmosphere of the walk was peaceful and calm. And Jack didn’t look pissed or annoyed at all on this date that they had, which made Mark even happier.   
They were walking up to Mark’s house and he really didn’t want this to end, he wants to do it again, he wants to spend more time with Jack. So, he has to make a move and say something. As Mark walked up toward his house, Jack cleared his throat.

“Um, Mark?” Mark turned around toward in front of Jack, smiling. “Do you want to go on another date sometime?” Mark didn’t expect that at all. He had expected to ask Jack himself, and then he thought that Jack would either say maybe or no.

“I-I would love to” Mark smiled at him as he messed around with his house keys, he has thought about kissing Jack every once and a while, but it’s only been casual and normal, not like some other fanti-. Mark felt Jack’s hand wrap around softly around his wrist, and he soon felt soft lips make contact with his.

Right when he felt the kiss, Mark felt like his heart was going to explode of how fast the beast were going. He felt his cheeks go red, and he closed his eyes.   
He felt sparks and fireworks, this was the best he’s ever felt in a long time, and this is the most calm and relaxed he’s ever been in a long time. And even though it was night, everything started to glow and everything was suddenly happy and calm. The only way Mark could explain the kiss would be: Joy. Joy would be the word he would use, every time somebody would ask.   
Mark didn’t want the kiss to end, he didn’t want Jack to go, he wanted to talk with him more, and he wanted to get to know him more, like he did today.

Jack broke the kiss, and the both of them made eye contact. Jack took a few steps back, starting to walk back from where they came.   
“Good night, Mark” Jack said to him with a warm a beautiful smile on his face: His blue eyes bright under the street lights, his bright smile that seems to warm Mark’s very being.

That’s when Mark knew, he truly loved Jack, and he can’t wait for what’s in store in the future!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did you like it? I thought it would be good for it though, and I'm sorry that it's a little shorter than the last chapters, I don't write dates often.   
> Would some of you guys like to see some of these types of chapters in the future? Tell me if you want them, and tell me if you don't? 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this late update!


	13. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What are they talking about?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY! So the reason why this is SO EARLY is because I'm going to be busy for who knows how long. I've been busy all week, and I'm ready for a relaxed day of nothing. So, I'm just putting this out before I forget it. 
> 
> And just to warn you...I LOVE THIS CHAPTER. And I NEVER say that, just because what happens in it, that's all.  
> ENJOY!

_What are they talking about?_

Mark’s sitting on the bed in the guest bedroom. He doesn’t go to sleep, because he wants to be able to wait in his own time. He doesn’t know why, but he’s concerned about the conversation between the two men in the living room downstairs. Mark doesn’t think its jealousy, but then again, why would he feel jealous over Felix? He’s concerned that the conversation was about a sensitive subject that would make Jack emotional. He just feels more comfortable like this, more at ease.  
He slides off of the bed and walks over to the stairs, he crouches down, and looks toward the two men. He sees the two men hug before Felix walks over to the door.

“Thanks for coming all the way here just to talk, Felix. You honestly didn’t have to do that” He hears Jack say.

“But I did. And what would you do without me?” Felix replies to him. But now that Mark thinks about it, why didn’t he just talk to Mark? He knows that Mark would be more than happy to listen to him. “So, are we still going to eat tomorrow?”

“Of course we are! I still have to catch up with you, after all!” Jack happily said to him. “See ya tomorrow, Felix!” Felix then closed to door behind him. Jack turns around so Mark can see his relieved smile. Jack then makes his way toward the kitchen, most likely making another pot of coffee.

Mark stands up, and walks down the stairs.  
“Did Felix leave?” Mark asked as he walked toward the bar stools to sit down on one of them.

“Yeah, he did.” Jack grunted as he put a little container in the espresso machine.

“What did the two of you talk about? If you don’t mind telling me” Jack looked toward him and rubbed the side of his ear.

“We haven’t seen each other in a few years and we were just catching up, that’s all” For some reason, Mark really wants to know what Jack’s not telling him. Before, Mark didn’t care, but now, he cared for some reason. Mark wants to ask a question, but he really doesn’t think he wants to for some odd reason, he doesn’t want Jack to answer, but he doesn’t want it unanswered at the same time.

“I know you want to ask about him” Jack says unexcitingly. “You can, if you want to. I don’t mind” The pitch in his voice tells Mark that e’s actually telling the truth. But whether or not He’ll ask him about it is a whole other story.

“What did happen to your friend?” He didn’t mean to ask in such a weak voice, he didn’t even know that his voice could be weak in the first place.

“He left” Jack answered with a monotone voice. But before Mark could say anything else, Jack cringed and put a hand to his head.  
“Ah, Mark, could you go get the Ibuprofen out of the bathroom? It’s behind the mirror” Jack grunted as he filled a glass of water. Mark nodded and walked over to the bathroom.  
It’s okay if Jack didn’t tell him the truth, Mark knows it’s a sensitive subject, but he still wants the truth.

Once he goes in the bathroom, he looks-.

He gently touches his face, looking at the face in the mirror. He combs his fingers through his black hair. His head starts to hurt, his hearing starts to fade, and the sides of his vision goes dark as he drops to the ground. He then hears a voice going through his head.

_Um, you’re Mark, right? – Do you want to go on another date, sometime? – Good night, Mark - Promise – I do – I can’t do anything, right! – Okay, Okay, I won’t dye my hair back. – Top o’ the mornin’ to ya – See ya later, I love you, Mark._

He remembers Jack, he remembers being so nervous when he saw Jack in the halls of the apartments. He remembers their first date, he remembers how calm he felt after their kiss. He remembers their sixth date where they went to the movies, where they were the only ones in the theatre. He remembers his fans, he remembers recording. He remembers all of his friends. He remembers how happy his fans were when they met him. He remembers their wedding day, he remembers how nervous he was before the ceremony. He remembers their vows, he remembers the little blue forget-me-nots. He remembers saying ‘Promise me you won’t forget me?’ And he remembers Jack replying with, ‘Promise’. He remembers Jack telling him about his work and his projects, he remembers listening with a smile spread over his face. He remembers Jack storming in the house after an unsuccessful day of work, he remembers calming him. But what he doesn’t remember is when Jack decided to make a copy of his in robot form. And where was the real him? He feels like his same old self, but with machinery and wires instead of organs and veins. But what he doesn’t understand in where the ‘original’ was. But, he doesn’t focus on that right now, why has Jack been so depressed? Why hasn’t he been communicating with him? Why does the color in his eyes seem so lifeless? Nothing makes since to him. Why did Jack tell him that he left? He wouldn’t ever leave him, his husband. He wouldn’t forget him, he wouldn’t betray him, and he wouldn’t leave him.

Mark stands up and tries his hardest not to look in the mirror, he doesn’t want to see his face right now. He opens the mirror door and he looks for the medicine. Seeing nothing that Jack told him to get, he walks back into the kitchen, trying to act like everything was the same as it had been before. Trying to act like a robot. He doesn’t feel like Jack wants to see him right now, the real him.  
“I can’t find the medicine, sorry” Mark says to him a little more gentle and weak then he normally does. He wants to ask Jack about what had happened over the past few years that he doesn’t remember, but Jack doesn’t know that Mark remembers, and he never will.

“Oh, I forgot that I had some in here” Jack said as he drank some water. “What took you so long, anyway?” He asks as he takes a cup from the cupboard and fills it with the espresso that probably got done making while he was in the bathroom.

“I was looking for the medicine, and I guess I just lost track of time” Mark doesn’t show any emotion when he replies. Jack shrugs it off, and takes a sip of his coffee.

It’s currently night and Mark waits for Jack to fall asleep. When he finally does, Mark walks over to the picture on the mantle and picks it up. Funny thing, he remembers this day. This was the day before he dyed his hair back to its natural color. Jack said he wanted to take one last picture of Mark’s red hair, and maybe Mark would change his mind because of how good he looked in red. And of course, Jack was only exaggerating and joking about it.  
He remembers that when they frame pictures, Jack always writes something on the back of them, like a little comment. He flips it over and he takes out the cardboard, and then carefully takes out the picture.

“’Me and my Bumber” Mark mumbles as he reads what Jack had written on it. He misses the little nicknames Jack had given him. No matter how ridiculous, he loved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEHEHEHEHE. I know I'm evil, I know. but, I'm probably going to be busy with things like, my mom dragging me around everywhere, and practicing for a play I'm going to be putting on with some more friends. OH JOY! 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the chapter, though!


	14. 'Jacksepticeye'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who is, Jacksepticeye?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A CHAPTER THAT WAS ACTUALLY ON TIME?!?!?!?! WHAT.  
> Anyway, pardon my ridiculousness, enjoy the-on-time-chapter!

That morning when Jack woke up, he stayed in bed and thought.

 _Why did Mark take so long?_  
_Did he lie to me?_  
 _Why would he lie?_

When Mark walked out of the bathroom and walked in the kitchen, he seemed…Different. His shoulders were sulking and his eyes were…Jack can’t find words to describe them, they were just, different. His whole being just seemed off and emotional, like he had just learned something tragic, or something like that. It was just strange, and the way he told Jack that he didn’t carry out his order successfully was abnormal and different. Why was he like that?  
But last night, right before he went to sleep, he heard shuffling down stairs. It was faint, but he thinks that Mark said something, but he couldn’t make it out. He doesn’t remember putting programming Mark talking to himself, but then again, he doesn’t remember programming most of the things that Mark’s done so far.  
But, he better get up out of bed before said Mark comes in his room checking if Jack’s awake yet.   

He walks down stairs, expecting for Mark to ask him a question or seeing Mark make coffee. Mark doesn’t even look at his when he walks into the room. He doesn’t even acknowledge that he’s there, he doesn’t even look in his direction. Maybe he doesn’t hear him come in?

Jack clears his throat. “When did you wake up?” Jack asks through a fake yawn.

“I never went to sleep” Mark sighs. He doesn’t even look to him when he replies, either. Mark his by the mantel, holding what he guesses is the picture that he won’t stop asking about. Jack walks over to him and he was correct, he was looking at the picture.  
He honestly doesn’t know why he’s so intrigued and so curious about it. He looks up toward Mark’s eyes, but this time, they were unreadable. Maybe he was thinking about it? What he does he think about it? It can’t be because he’s figured it out, can it? That he’s figured out that he’s the other man in the picture? No, that can’t be it, it won’t be it.  
Jack prepares himself of the questions that Mark might ask, and he thinks about the answers he’ll give. But, Mark doesn’t ask anything like that to him.  
“Why did-.” Mark begins to ask, but he stops for a brief moment. “When are you leaving for lunch with Felix?” Mark asks. Jack knows that that wasn’t the question that Mark was going to ask, his curiosity and concerns grow stronger.

“Well,” He looks toward the clock.

10:48, he could’ve sworn that he woke up earlier than that.

“I leave around 12:45” Jack replied, but he pauses, does he dare ask? It’s stupid for him to even think about asking him, but what’s the harm in it? “Do you want to come with me?” Now that…That gets Mark’s attention, that gets Mark to look at him. He raises an eyebrow in suspicion.  
“If you want to, I just thought you would like to get out of this house a bit more. And maybe you can warm up to Felix a little” Jack trailed off, waiting for Mark’s reply. He doesn’t know what Mark’s going to say, but either way, Jack’s worried.

“I’ll come with you” Mark said as he looks at the picture one more time, and puts it back on the shelf. He turned away from Jack, and walks toward the stairs.  
“I’m going to change into something more appropriate” Mark says before he starts to walk up the stairs.

“Mark,” Jack begins, but air gets caught. “There are some clothes in the guest bedroom.”

“You’ve already told me that” Mark replied to him, before going up the stairs toward the guest bedroom. Did he already tell him? He did, he just forgot.  

Why does he feel like Mark’s not paying any attention to him at all? It sounds like he’s starving for attention, but the robot upstairs doesn’t act like this. He asks questions, he’s curious, he pays attention to Jack and he worries about him.  
Jack sits on a couch that’s resting behind him, and he sighs. Maybe Mark’s trying to test him? What would his reason be behind that? But, Mark’s whole feeling changed, his demeanor changed so drastically and the normal him hasn’t shone through yet. Jack’s starting to think that it’s all in his head.

“Who is, ‘Jacksepticeye’?” Jack didn’t hear him coming down stairs, he jumped around to the random question. Mark was wearing one of the shirts that the real Mark had made for him.

-.-

_“Are you serious?” Jack asked as he looked over the merchandise store. “You made a Dark shirt?” He then turned around to look toward his husband that was currently looking over some shirts that were spread down on their bed._

_“The fans love it, and I love it! So why wouldn’t I make a shirt of my ‘evil persona’?” Mark laughed as he gave Jack a big smile and then he went back to picking out shirts. Mark’s comment made Jack have an idea._

_Jack stood up from his seat and walked over to his husband, resting his arm on Mark’s shoulders and resting his chin on his rested arms.  
“But not as much as you love me??” It sounded like a child wanting a cookie, honestly. But it made the situation a lot more hilarious. _

_“No, I think I love it a bit better” It seemed like he was stating a fact, Jack was took back by the statement. He took his arms off of the man’s shoulders, turned his back on him and crossed his arms like a pouting child that didn’t get what he had wanted. He heard Mark move a bit, he heard a little chuckle before-.  
“Baby, I’m sorry.” Mark said as he back hugged him, resting his chin on Jack’s shoulder. “It was an honest mistake” He murmured. Jack, knowing where Mark thinks this is going to go, turns around slowly in Mark’s hold, facing him. _

_“Honest? You call-.” Jack started with a Jersey accent, but interrupted himself by pecking the man on the lips in front of him. “That, Honest?” Jack knows where this is going to go: Mark’s going to reply with something along the lines of, ‘honey, I didn’t mean to’ and then Jack’s going to interrupt him with, ‘Don’t you honey, me!’ It’s what they usually do when something like this happens, and honestly, it’s something that Jack looks forward too._

_“Yep” Mark returned the peck on the lips with his own. Well, guess Jack was wrong._  
_Mark unwrapped his arms that were around Jack and walked over to the computer Jack was on just a few moments ago._  
_“But-.” Mark grunted a bit before sitting in the desk chair, going through his merchandise page. “I had something else made-. You know how much the fans love you, right?” Mark turned his head towards the Irishman, what was Mark getting at? Jack just nodded._  
_“Well…” Mark pulled up a page. Jack leaned forward to get a better look at it. Mark let out a little laugh before getting up from the chair, and placing a peck on his cheek. “And I have a copy of it as well” You could just hear the smile that was planted on his face. And what was Mark talking about? It was none other than a shirt, a hat, and a plushy with his little eyeball that he made up one day for his gamer tag. Jack wanted to say something along the lines of, ‘Why did you decide to make this?’ Or, ‘the fans finally convinced you’ but all he did was smile widely._

-.-

“It’s just a gift someone gave me” Jack replied to him with a weak smile. He never thought how much he would miss those little things that he and his husband did together, until it was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA! I don't know if you noticed, BUT PLOT IS STARTING TO SHINE MORE THROUGH THE CLOUDS OF NOT-KNOWING-WTF-I'M DOING! 
> 
> Hope you Enjoyed, and have a great Day/Night!
> 
> (Edit: a part in the little flashback when Jack said, 'You call that honest' I copied that from one of my other fics...)


	15. Worries, Regrets.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He hates it, he fucking hates all of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so some of you guys wanted longer chapters? 2500+ WORDS BABY! It's the longest chapter yet! But don't get used to it, this scene (I don't know why I call them that but I do) was long, so this chapter was long. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it!

“Why would someone give you a shirt that has an infected eyeball on it?” Mark asked as he put on the same shoes that he wore when they went out to the park, black with gold lining on the outside.  
“I don’t understand it” Mark then looked toward Jack, expecting an answer. What would he tell him now? That it was just a joke between him and that friend? That it was a prank?

“It was just something that he and I joked about. And that’s all” Jack said as he walked toward the door, Mark following behind him. Jack really is getting tired of all of this, distorting the truth, that is. He’s technically not lying, but he’s not telling the full truth. And it’s _exhausting_. He wants to tell Mark the truth, he wants him to remember, he wants him to love him, to hold him, and to be there for him. And he wants to be there for Mark. But he’s afraid that if Mark remembers, he would feel so much guilt for not being there for Jack, he just thinks that Mark would be miserable knowing that Jack spent the last two years in an emotionless work ethic. He just doesn’t know what to do about it.

Jack walks out to his car, seeing Mark walk to the other side of the Cadillac, and slid into the front seat. Jack came in behind him and go his seat as well.

The ride to the restaurant was a quiet and tense one. Mark was stone-faced through all of the ride and Jack was over thinking things.  
What would happen? How awkward will it be for the three of them?  
How many questions will Mark flood Felix with? How many will be about his dead husband? How many will be about what happened to said husband? How many would be about Jack himself? How many will be about Felix?  
God, when did he start worrying about all of this stuff?  
But then Jack started to think, he hasn’t told anybody else about Mark. And nobody knows about it, either. He hasn’t told his family, he hasn’t told his other friends, he hasn’t told Mark’s own family, and he hasn’t told anybody that works under him. The more he thinks about all of this: the lies, the lack of communication, the more he regrets it. The more he thinks about it, the more he feels guilty about it all.

“Jack, slow down!” Jack snaps back out of his trance. He glances over at Mark for a brief second before looking back on the road. He hadn’t even realized that he’d been going over the speed limit, and he didn’t even realize how tight his grip had been. He slowed down, thank god that no cops were around to pull him over. That would’ve been a disaster.  
They pull up to the restaurant and park in the parking lot. They had decided on going out to eat in a small town that was quiet and reserved. It would be easier that way, with Felix being the one and only pewdiepie and having a robot version of Markiplier. And by the looks of it, they were the only people going to the restaurant that day, besides the staff that looked like only consisted of two or three people it looked like.

Here another thing that Jack had noticed: The way Mark had said to ‘slow down’. He didn’t say it the way he normally would say it, it wasn’t like stone. It wasn’t emotionless. It was worried, worried as in a human sense, not as a robot sense. But Jack soon disregards it, Mark has been letting out more feelings and emotions lately.  
But there’s one thing that Jack doesn’t expect. He didn’t expect Mark to go ahead of him, and opened the door for him. He didn’t expect for Mark to do that at all. Was that another thing that Jack had programmed into his systems and just forgot that he did? Was that just another thing that Mark had done before and Jack put that little detail in? It must have been, what else would it be?

“Hey!” Felix says happily as he walks over to the two of them, hugging Jack. Jack then smiles back, and then he looks to the side of him, and he glances at Mark. The robot holds out his hands for a hand shake.

_Oh boy…This isn’t going to end well._

And as if on cue, Mark pulled his hand away and made an awkward smile at him.  
“Sorry” Mark said to the swede. “I forgot that you don’t like handshakes” That made the other two start laughing for a bit. Thank god that Jack programmed Felix’s profile, or else it wouldn’t have ended badly like he had thought. After Felix had calmed down from his laughter, he straightened up.

“Our table is over there” Felix kindly told the both of them, but it was more toward Jack’s person. When Felix goes ahead of them, Mark follows him. Jack catches up to Mark, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Mark.” Mark turned around with, yet again, a face of stone. “Can you turn off your hearin’? I need to talk with Felix. Can ye-, can ya do that?” Jack then gave him an expression that anyone could see was serious, but it was also reassuring. Mark finally nodded and there was a faint ringing before he nodded again. Jack then walked back toward Felix that was already seated. He seated by Felix, and about five seconds later, Mark joined them.

“So, how have you and Marzia been doing?” Jack asked as he leaned forward a little to hear all of what Felix would say next. But then he thinks about it, he hasn’t been thinking about his friends at all in these past two years, and he can just feel the guilt rise in his throat the more he thinks about it.

“We’ve been well! So well in fact…” Felix trailed off to retrieve his phone from his pocket, tapped around on it for a bit, and then showed Jack what was displayed on his phone. A sudden wave of happiness and surprise washed over for his friend that was sitting on the other side of the table.

“You’re havin’ a baby?!” Jack almost squealed as he looked at the ultrasound. “Congratulations!” Jack said right after calming down a bit from the sudden outburst.

“One of the names we’re thinking of calling them if it’s a girl is Alexandria, and if not that, Aida” Felix said as he looked at it Jack had guessed the thousandth time sense he got on his phone. Jack had actually wanted a kid for a long time now, really, ever since he saw how good Mark was with kids: Which was about six years ago now.

_How time flies by._

“And what about if it’s a boy?” Jack asked with a bright smile and rested eyes. Felix then pocketed his phone and made happy eye contact with the Irish-born again.

“Haven’t really thought about it, but there’s one name that I know that I won’t name them if they’re a boy” Felix shrugged a bit before continuing. Jack wonders if it’s PJ or Edgar, or something like that. Jack then made a slight hand gesture for Felix to continue. “Jack” Felix smiled toward him with a smug look in his eyes.

“An’ I don’t blame ya, I’m lucky that I don’t have that name” Jack casually said, he knows that Felix is trying to roast him. Wow, it really does seem like his roast vid was just a few days ago, but it’s been years.

“Oh you mother fucker” Felix chuckled a bit before he gave Jack a little grumpy face. “And let’s just getting this out there, my channel is still the same way as it was, but YouTube has put Add revenue back on my channel” As if Jack couldn’t get any happier for his friend.

“Dude, congrats!” Jack exclaimed. But when Jack made eye contact with his friend again, he expression changes. Felix is going to tell him something, and Jack doesn’t like it. But before he starts, he nods over to Mark who was looking out the window that they were sitting by.  
“His hearing is turned off” Jack replied to Felix’s unsaid question about the robot overhearing. Felix then took a deep breath before starting.

“Over the past two years, there’s been some comments asking if you’re okay or not.” Felix quietly said with a bit of a mumble.  
This is what he was afraid of, that their conversation was going to turn out like this. Now he’s beginning to thank himself for asking Mark to turn off his hearing. If he hears all of this, he would just ask more question as to why people would ask if he was alright or not. And that means that he has to put up with bending the truth to each question.

“Did you respond to them?” Jack asked, though it was quieter than he had hopped. But Felix bypassed his question by continuing.

“For the first year, people were asking if you’re okay. I’ve responded to those comments saying that I didn’t know because I haven’t talked to you.  
The second year, people were asking if I’ve talked to you, to see if he was okay because they haven’t heard anything on the internet about you or how you’ve been holding up.” And that made Jack lean back in his chair.  
“And in that second year, people have been coming over from his channel asking me if you were okay.” Felix continued. Somewhere in the back of his mind in the past two years, he knew that people would try to ask about him on a personal level, only because He’s played with his friends sometimes and he’s been in some of Mark’s videos. And he had thought that they would’ve went and gone in a span of three months or less.  
Jack wasn’t going to say anything at this point, and Felix knows it.  
“Your family have been messaging me as well, your mom, dad, your brothers and sisters. They contacted me a month after you disconnected from everything; the internet, your social life, your family, your friends…” Felix then put his elbows on the tables as he leaned forward a bit, letting his hands support the sides of his face. Jack looks toward Mark, whose head is now bend down toward to his chest with his eyes closed.  
Jack slightly cups a hand over his mouth, thinking. He’s just been so wrapped up in his work and own pitiful work ethic to think about the people around him and what the effects would be. He didn’t even tell them that he destroyed his own tech, that he made himself, into a million pieces after he found out that his husband was fucking dead by the hands of a fucking disgusting drunkard that soon shot himself afterward. That fuck didn’t even pay for it all, he just killed himself so he would fucking get out of it! When did he get like this? When did he get so angry, so depressed, so unlike himself to the point that he’s not even feeling any pity for that man who most likely had his own family and friends. When did he get filled with so much grief that it clouded his normal thoughts? He really needs him right now, he needs his husband back. Even though Mark’s sitting right next to the Irishman, he feels like it’s just a stranger that just has his husband’s face.

He hates it, he fucking hates all of it.

“What do they say now?” Jack asked, but it had a bitter tone to it. He didn’t even notice how much his nose was scrunched up until now, he didn’t even notice the sneer that made its way across his lips. Felix reached over to the other side of the table, and softly placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder. Jack looked up and met Felix’s gaze. Just by looking at the Swede’s look in his eyes, he quickly rested his shoulders, and made his expression softer.  
“I’m sorry.” Jack said so softly that he might as well have mouthed it.

“Well, now, your mother has been messaging me every day to see if you would answer for me even though you didn’t answer her own messages. And some people in the community, from Mark’s and from mine, have been reminding me to try to contact you” That, that’s what made Jack’s eyes finally cry. Suddenly a wave of thoughts and feelings washed over him all at once, previous thoughts became more intense and emotions were amped.  
He felt a tug in his gut as the thoughts poured in, he felt his hands shake more than they already were. And he felt a pit in his stomach. He tried to hold back the tears, and surprisingly, it worked. Only about two tears shed, but the pit in his stomach and tug in his gut didn’t falter. Why did people care about him so much? And why were people so dedicated on caring for him? All of it didn’t make any fucking since to him. He wants to go home, he just wants to go home and think. Maybe he can calm down a bit, see if his normal routine for when he’s angry still has affect.

It seemed like Felix read his mind as he slid off of his seat, gesturing Mark to get up, which he did. Jack stood up from his seat as well. Felix led Jack out of what seemed like deserted restaurant, and gave Jack the most caring hug he’s had in long time.  
Jack wrapped his arms around the other man, and he dug his face into the other’s shoulder. Even though he didn’t dare let his tears loose this time, the pit and tug in his stomach and gut had boiled down to a simmer and a bit of relaxation filled him. Jack finally pulled away and smiled as brightly as he could towards his friend. He looked around for Mark a bit, but he soon saw him in his Cadillac, windows and doors shut.

“Sean-.” Felix said to him as he got his attention from looking at the robot in the vehicle. “I know that we said that we were going to come here to catch up with me, but I told you that I am here to talk with you and to help you. And I just want to remind you: Don’t feel guilty for only coming over here to talk to you-.”

“I know, you’ve made it pretty clear yesterday and in the Skype call” Jack replied to him, he wanted there to be a little laughter, to lighten up the mood a bit, but his tone didn’t do what he had wanted.

The two said there farewells for now, Felix going over to his own rental and Jack going over to his own car.

When Jack gets home, he’s going to have a hopefully, nice, hot shower. Maybe he can get some of his thoughts in order.  
But for now, he thinks about new ways to bend the truth for Mark. No matter how much he hates to lie, he doesn’t want Mark to find out about any of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was it? It's the most anger infused chapter so far! Did I do well? I seriously don't know...  
> but with that aside, I'm going to be preforming a play that's about an hour and twenty minutes long on Saturday, and it's NERVE WRACKING. Thank you for your lucky comments on the last chapter, IT HELPS A LOT :D
> 
> But as always, I hope you guys enjoyed it!  
> Have a good day/night, guys! 
> 
>  
> 
> (And you're welcome for the 2500+ ;) )


	16. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The more he thinks about this, all of this, the more he just wants to cry

When Jack sat in the driver’s seat, Mark sighed and bent his head down. He doesn’t want to look at him, he doesn’t want to talk to him, not after all of the new questions that appeared in Mark’s subconscious.

It absolutely pained him to do it, but back in the diner before he joined Jack and Felix, he turned his hearing back on. He doesn’t want to get into his husb-… _Jack’s_ business, but he’s not answering questions honestly. Mark had this strong feeling that he’s nearly taken into fact that whatever question he asks Jack, he’s just going to answer with a lie. Or maybe it’s just Jack’s way of telling the truth to keep from hurting Mark.  
Jack has no idea how much Mark wants to ask him all of these questions, to tell him that he remembers, and to most of all comfort him. But he knows if he does that, all that he’s going to get is a twisted truth that’s just there to lazily fill in the blanks so he won’t worry about the man that’s sitting next to him. But the reality of this whole thing is that it’s causing more damage to the man himself, and to Mark as well.

The more he thinks about this, all of this, the more he just wants to cry.

“If you don’t mind, what…What did you and Felix talk about?” Mark just has to ask this question, just to see how far from the truth Jack goes.

“Oh, we just talked about a few things that were going on in his life” Jack doesn’t even bat him an eye when he replies.

“Oh” Mark replies back, has Jack really been telling half of the truth this entire time? He looks back towards Jack: His resting face was the same but this time it was more tense and guarded, his shoulder blades were tense, and his grip on the wheel was tighter than it needed to be.  
When did Jack become so, closed in? What happened to the optimistic, energetic, happy, peaceful, man that he married years ago? What had happened to make him so…Distant?

Another thing that Mark had noticed…  
Why did his fans go to Felix to see if Jack was okay? Did the original Mark do something to Jack? And if he had done something, why did Jack make another Mark? Was it to make him more loving?  
But that seems unlikely, Jack would’ve gone to one of his friends to talk if that happened. Anything else he would’ve gone to his friends, if it was any emotional problem if Mark didn’t talk to him. What affected Jack so badly that it made him this way? To not paying attention to his friends and family?

They pull up to the drive way, and before Mark knows it, he steps into their house and Jack’s gone before he even gets a chance to say anything.  
Mark sighed as he kicked off his shoes by the door and made his way toward the stairs, hearing loud water flowing from the bathroom.

He opens the door to their bedroom. When he looks around the room, its atmosphere polluted with negativity and darkness that wasn’t there the last time he had slept here. But now that he thinks about it, why didn’t he noticed this before when he had heard Jack scream from just a couple days ago.  
He walks over to the bed and sits on his side of the bed, the left side, where he kept his glasses in the top drawer, with his other miscellaneous things.  
Another thing that he didn’t notice when the last time he was in here, which was when he had gone to get Jack’s phone for him, was that there was a picture on Mark’s nightstand that was the goofy picture of the two of them at the theaters that he had posted to twitter. He has no idea why Jack wanted to frame it, but the excuse he gave was that it was ‘a Septiplier masterpiece’ which was a ridiculous ship name that the fans had given them even though they were already married.  
Mark smiles at those memories, the memories of their shenanigans and tricks…He misses them, he misses each and every one of them.

What happened?

Mark couldn’t get away from that question, so he just had to think about some answers.  
Did he cheat on Jack? No, it’s in their vows not to forget about the other, and he just doesn’t see himself doing that. He’s just going to bypass the alcohol related questions, since he can’t drink it anyway.  
If Mark did do something mentally or physically harmful to Jack, he would be angry and pissed off at Mark’s name. But when people mention him to Jack, he doesn’t show any sign of anger, he shows emotional pain in his face, he shows sorrow and grief. Did they have a divorce? No, if they did, Jack wouldn’t have had his wedding ring on…

Wedding ring. That’s another thing that he didn’t notice before he remembered who he is. And…Why didn’t he have his ring on? Was that just something that Jack had over-looked? No, he’s done such a great job with detail that he would’ve over-looked that.  

What happened? The answer must be right under his nose or right in front of his eyes, but he can’t see it worth his life.

He wants to ask Jack, he wants to ask him: What happened? Why he made him? Where’s the real him? Why is he acting this way? Are you okay? Why are you lying to me? What’s wrong? How can I help? What can I do? What did _I_ do? What happened two years ago? Do you want me to do something? What is wrong with me? Why are you telling me only half of the truth?

Mark is now laying on the bed with one arm across his forehead, feeling tears roll down his cheeks. He wish he could understand everything, but for now, he just has too…

He hears the water shut off from downstairs and quickly and he jumps up off of the bed, wipes away his tears, and runs out of their room and into the guest bedroom. He has a very strong feeling that Jack doesn’t want him in there for a reason that’s unknown. Another question that was added to the list of many that had yet to be answered.

But, there might be a way to answer those said questions…

After Mark heard footsteps from the stairs, and then a door shutting from the room that was just to the right of the guest bedroom, Mark hurried down stairs.  
His recording room was by the back of the house, so the sound can be even more closed in so Jack could think about his projects in peace.  
But when he got to his door, it all looked so…Untouched. The door frame had dust on it, and the handle had a coating of dust over it as well. But it was locked, and it didn’t have the key under a piece of carpet that was loose that was by the door frame. Why wasn’t it there? It was _always_ there.

Mark finally made up his mind, he needs to go into his comments that’s on his videos, and see what the fans are saying. Maybe then he could find some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking about naming the chapters!  
> the reason why I haven't been naming the chapters was because I didn't want people to know what the chapter was going to be about so it'll be fresh, but now I think I'm gonna start naming the chapters! 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!!  
> -Edit: I just realized, this fic has 69 Kudos...Now that a sexy number if you ask me! (But really, thank you, it means a lot to me)


	17. Relaxed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He needs to stop, and think.

Jack got dressed in his Pajamas which is his ‘I love burgie’ shirt, and then his flamingo shorts. He heard shuffling before he started to get dressed, but he disregarded it because it was just Mark. But, why were his steps light-weight and shallow? He wouldn’t have any reason to sneak around, so why was his steps quitter than usual?

He’s greeted with Mark walking toward him, head bent, as he walks out of his room. The machine in front of him looks up and makes eye-contact with him, but his eyes are focused, serious.  
Jack questions him with a short hum, avoiding to use words.

“Where’s your computer?” He asks, what does he want with a computer?

“Why do you need it?” Jack replies. He can’t think of anything that Mark would want with a computer, he doesn’t remember anything about himself, so why would he need it? What makes Jack question more is when Mark looks at him dead in the eyes, followed by silence.  
“Mark, why do you need it?” He repeats.

“I need it for research” What could Mark possibly be doing that needs research?

“It’s down the hall that’s by the kitchen” Jack responds. “I’ll be upstairs.” He watches as Mark walks past him to the room, followed by Jack going in his own room logging on to his own computer.  
The reason why he’s letting Mark use it is because he can watch what he’s doing from his own. He has it so that he can monitor what the other computer has on it, in case of hackers or viruses that might show up one day.  
Don’t get him wrong, he hates getting in Mark business and having so little trust for the machine, but he’s been acting so strange and not like he had programmed him. It started out with Mark asking all of these questions, not knowing the full truth, to Mark being distant and quiet. He knows that there are some things that he forgot that he programmed Mark with, but he is _sure_ that he did _not_ program him with this drastic of mood swings between such shot amount of time.  
He had thought that Mark did something that would lead to how he’s been acting, but he hasn’t been doing anything that would make him like this.

He starts watching what his screen in showing him. What he sees is…Space, all Mark is doing is searching how black holes are made, some theories about wormholes thought could send somebody/something in a different universe altogether. He didn’t do anything else, he just read and processed the information.  
He didn’t question why he wanted to look this up, he’s Mark, of course. The man who loves space, but he’s also the man who is mimicking the man who loves space.

Why did he even think that he would do something suspicious? He thinks he’s just afraid that he’s going to lose him too after all of the work he put into him that he doesn’t even remember.  
Mark wouldn’t do anything like this, he wouldn’t do anything that would affect Jack in any way, because he’s clearly shown that he doesn’t want to worry him in the least, he’s never wanted that in all of the time they’ve known each other.

“It’s going to be okay” Jack needs some positivity, he’s been needing it for really who knows how long. He needs to calm himself down, he needs to relax. He steps away from the computer, and sits down on the floor, and he meditates.

He hasn’t sat down and thought about thing ever since Mark’s death.  
He’s trying to see what he truly feels. He wants to figure what he’s feeling so he can –hopefully- fix all of it.  
As he focusses, he can notices the following:

The pit that he feels in his stomach,  
The uncomfortable feeling in his throat,  
The furrow in his eyebrows,  
The tense in his shoulder blades,  
The slight squint in his eyes,  
The pain in his chest.

As much as he hates to do, he goes to a dark part of his mind, but if that’s what it takes to get himself calm, to make Mark not worry, then that’s what he does.

-.-

_Five days. Five days since he got the call. Five days since he’s heard the silk-like voice. Five days since he’s seen his husband._   
_And this is the day where he sees him again, but this time, without air in his lungs. Without a pulse. Without a smile._

_He slides his tie up to his collar, getting dressed is done. He looks at himself in the mirror. He’s still waiting to get up, he’s still waiting to see Mark by his side, alive and well. He’s still waiting for this all just to be a sick dream._

_He walks out to his car. He arrives to the funeral home._   
_As he sits in the pews, everything is just ringing to him. Everything is just numb and silent. Still sitting in his seat in the back, not noticing the service had ended until a man said something to him causing him to stand up from his seat. It’s like he’s on auto pilot, but not until he starts to walk up to the open coffin. He snaps into reality: he’s hesitant to look, but he looks anyway._

_His blood ran cold as he looked down into the coffin._

_It’s absolutely horrifying._   
_You’d think- you’d think that it wouldn’t look bad, you’d expect it just to look like they’re sleeping. You wouldn’t expect it to be this- this scaring._   
_His black hair was combed off to the side like it always is, he’s wearing the new black tux that the people in the funeral home donated because Jack wasn’t answering their calls because of how much shock he was in by the whole event._   
_He just looks so…Fragile. Everything was relaxed, almost loose. Some people would say that he looked like he was peaceful, that he’s restful. But Jack? Jack didn’t know what to say or how to describe it. But he does know this, he does now that every cell in his body ran. He does know that once he saw it, once he had seen Mark’s lifeless body, he turned the other way and ran. He ran out of the building and into his car. He was scared as everything came into reality. This isn’t a dream, this isn’t a hallucination. Mark isn’t here anymore. His husband’s gone. The person that he loves most…Gone._

_As he’s sitting inside his house, back against the front door._   
_Another part of reality sparks up inside of him, a sudden burst of realization._

_“I have to explain what happened” He murmurs into his knees. His fans haven’t had any information on why Mark had suddenly disappeared out of the blue. He needs to explain what had happened. But he doesn’t get up. He can’t._

-.-

He opens his eyes to the floor, followed with blurred vision and wet cheeks.  
When he had cried before, it just led to him being more miserable, it just led to him being angrier. But some unknown reason, his mind was cleared, he was relaxed…Calm. And now, he knows what he has to do, he has to go back to his roots.

He has to go back to his home, Ireland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there something different about the latest chapters? I don't want this to seem boring or anything, so please tell me if it is getting boring? (I'm serious, please tell me if I'm doing something wrong) 
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed!


	18. I’m Sorry (2 years ago)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He needs all of this answered, now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay...So I didn't need a couple of days...I only needed a couple of hours...
> 
> ENJOY!

Mark knew that Jack would monitor his search. He’s always had an eye on the computers because a hacker got into his computer for ten minutes before Jack kicked him off. He closes the window and walks out of the door, greeted by none other than the man himself.

“Hey” Jack murmured as he leaned on the side of the doorframe. Mark hummed, he doesn’t trust his words right now, and he doesn’t want to say anything that he’d regret later.   
“Um, listen-.” He leans off of the door frame, and folded his arms. “I have to go to Ireland for the weekend, and I’m going alone” Wait, what?

“Why’re you going to Ireland?” Mark asked. Jack takes a breath.

“I just, I need to go back to my home for a bit, you know. I just need a break.” Jack got quiet at the last part, but Mark still understood him. Mark nodded.

“When will you be going?” He asked with a neutral expression.

“I’m going tomorrow” He replied. “Are you going to be alright alone?” In the terms that Jack’s thinking of, yes he would be okay in the house, he wouldn’t do anything to accidentally hurt him physically. But in the other circumstances, if he would be okay emotionally, he doesn’t know.

“Yes, I’ll be okay”

-.-

Mark’s on the sofa, thinking.

He didn’t sleep that night, he just thought all through the night. Jack had left that morning for the airport.   
One thing that he’s been thinking is this; why did he start YouTube, again?

He doesn’t understand it. All it is is recording himself and putting in on the internet for hundreds of thousands of people to see. He doesn’t see himself doing that anymore. And when he does, all he sees is just doing it for nothing else but money, and he can’t see himself doing anything else, either. He knows that he loved doing it, he knows that he used to love doing everything that involved YouTube. He loved meeting new fans, he loved meeting old ones. He loved playing ridiculous games, he loved playing serious games. He loved doing videos of any kind…But now? He doesn’t know. He doesn’t remember what it felt like. He…It’s like trying to feel how you would think you would feel like in a moment, but you still can’t feel anything.   
Another thing that he’s thought about is; this Mark- the _real_ Mark. It’s like he’s a whole different person than himself. He feels like he should be like him, but he’s not. It all just seems wrong, him existing, that is. It all seems wrong. It all doesn’t feel right to him.

The Wedding Ring,   
The Forget-me-nots  
The Memories,  
The Lies,   
The Pictures,   
Nothing. Nothing seems right to him. But, at the same time, it does.   
It feels like he _should_ love all of these things: the love, memories, moments, rings, laughs, cries, they all seem like they _should_ mean something to him.

But they don’t mean anything. Not anymore.

He needs all of this answered, _now_.

He gets up from the sofa and walks toward the rom that Jack said had a computer in it. He logs on, and opens up the browser. He types in his channel name, and looks at the new upload.

 **I’m Sorry.**   
_2 years ago._

He furrows his eyebrows as he clicks, seeing Jack on the other end of the screen. He listens.

“Hey, guys. I know people have been panicking about Mark and where he’s been over the past week, and most of you are probably wondering why his husband is making a video. Well, uh…He-…” Jack pauses. He’s so…Worn out, tired. “Mark Edward Fischbach, He started out as an engineer, he’s had hardships and difficulties through his life. He started from rock-bottom when he had first started YouTube. I’ve known him ever since the first year of college. He loves all of the people who’ve supported him, even if he doesn’t know them personally. He loves all of his family, friends, an’ fans-.” He pauses again to breathe. “He’s been there for everybody who needed it, and for those he didn’t admit they needed it. He’s a great friend and a great person in all…  
“But the reason why he’s not been uploading anywhere on any social media, is because...Is because…” He breathes some more, why is he so emotional? “Mark Edward Fischbach was-…Was shot a-a-and”

“What?” Mark murmured as he continued to watch, not bringing himself to stop it.

“H-he, w-w-was ki…Killed.” Jack then stopped, Mark watching him break down into hard sobs. “An-an there was nothing th’ h-h-hospital could do…” Mark couldn’t believe this…He, he’s dead? W…Why? H-How-…?

-.-

_“No! I don’t want you to go” Mark whined as he held on to Jack’s waist as he tries to walk toward the door._

_“But I have to go!!” Jack exclaimed in a higher pitched voice as he turns around to face Mark. “Will you let me go if I kiss you?”_

_“Bribery won’t work!” Mark exclaimed like a little baby, but when the other gave him a little kiss on the forehead, Mark let go of him. Jack ran toward the door, opening it bit sticking his head in the door to give Mark another kiss._

_“I won’t be gone long, why don’t ya want me ta go?”_

_“Because I playing a scary game and I’m scared!” Mark said in a little kid voice. Jack laughed before giving Mark another kiss._

_“Will tha’ be good until I get back?” Mark nodded furiously, followed by a few giggles. “Love you!” And he was gone._

_“Love you” Mark murmured back in a hushed tone. He doesn’t know why, but he just feels uneasy. Like something bad is going to happen to Jack or something, but it’s probably just him over thinking everything. Eh, he’s going to go out for a bit, maybe that’ll put his thoughts to rest._

_The only place he can think of that he could calm those thoughts would be in the park that Jack and him always go to when they walk together. There’s not that many people here, it’s mostly just the two of them and that’s all, but it’s okay._  
The reason why he loves this park so much is because his vows are here, the Forget-me-nots.   
He doesn’t really like the flower, but he likes what it signifies. He likes that it’s a promise to the both of them so that the other won’t forget them even in the toughest times. And in a way, it makes you aware of what you’re doing. He picks one. That was resting by the trunk of the tree.   
Eh, he’ll take one for the road. 

_He plays with his ring as he walks. Now that he’s thought about it, he hasn’t taken it off since their wedding day. Jack hasn’t either, even when he’s working on his projects he puts on something to cover it up with. He loves that, he loved that they haven’t taken them off, even though it’s such a little thing, he loves it.  
He wonders what they’ll do in the future, if there’s something big planned for them that they just don’t know yet. Whatever it is, he hopes that they’ll do it together-. _

_“Where am I?” Mark asks himself as he looks around a narrow space between backs of buildings. Did he take a wrong turn? He takes out his phone and-._

_“Why…” He hears a voice from behind, he starts to turn…but before he could, he howls in pain as he falls to the ground.  
“Oh, OH GOD!” He hears the voice again, and then he hears heavy footsteps, and then a gunshot. _

_He’s on the ground. Shocked and wounded. Everything is slowly going black. The sides of his vision going dark and then advancing to the center. He can feel the cool air breeze against his skin and hair. He can year footsteps far off from where he is, and he can slightly hear cars drive by. He can’t move his legs. He can barely move his arms._

_  
He knows he got shot. He knows there’s pain. But he’s not thinking about the shot, he’s not thinking about the pain, and he’s not thinking about the person who shot him._

_He’s thinking if Jack’s safe._

_He’s thinking if Jack’s going to be okay without him. He’s worried about Jack feeling alone. He’s worried about Jack coming home without welcoming arms. He’s worried about Jack not being okay being alone. He’s worried that Jack won’t call anybody, or take anybody’s calls when he needs them the most. He’s worried for him.  
Will he be okay? _

_He holds onto the Forget-me-not with the little strength he has left._

_“Jack, it’s going to be okay, I…” He barely has enough strength to say anything, but in a hushes tone, he says, “I…Love…You”_

-.-

He can hear Jack’s sobs on the other end, and his apologies for everything, but it slowly fades as he rushes out of the room into Jack’s bedroom.   
He searches through each one of the drawers for the key to his office.   
He remembers. He remembers everything now. But he still doesn’t have all of his answers.

He finally finds it.

He runs down the stairs, he goes toward the door, he unlocks it, and opens the door.

As soon as he walks in, he smells dust in the air. He turns on the light and sees his set-up. It’s just as he had left it that day. Nothing has moved, nothing has changed but one thing. One thing that he notices. One thing that stands out. The wedding ring that’s resting in front of his keyboard on his desk. He sits in the office chair, and looks at it.   
He doesn’t touch it, he feels like he can’t. It just seems wrong to touch it. It seems wrong for _him_ to touch it, so he doesn’t.   
He needs answers. He needs answers before Jack comes back.

He leaves the room. He heads toward Jack’s laboratory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guys guess what's going to happen in the next chapter? Don't please, I don't want to ruin anything that may or may not happen in the future chapters. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it as always! :D


	19. No...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He knows that he loves him but…

“Malcom,” Jack said as he leaned forward across the table in his brother’s house. “What would you do if you were ever in my situation?” Jack asked.

“Sean,” His Brother started, putting the mug he was drinking out of down on the table. “I have no Idea what my reaction would be if I went t’rough th’ t’ings ye went t’rough, but, I would always look on th’ bright side o’ t’ings, find th’ positivity” He said with confidence.

“But I-.” He thought about the words he would use. “Jus’ ever since he had died, I haven’t been feelin’ th’ same. I get way angrier than I used ta, the silver lining on things dwindled down to a dull rust for me.”

“Sean-.”

“I’ve tried everything, Malcom. Everythin’-.” But, he was soone cut-off.

“Do ya love Mark?” He asked. Why did he even ask, he knows the answer! Why would he even build a robot version of him if he didn’t love him? That’s just!- that’s just…He then found that he doesn’t know how to answer that.   
Why is he hesitating? He knows that he loves him but…

“Of course I love Mark, why would ya even ask that?” Jack answered with a question.

“Jus’ ask yourself t’is: is this what ye want, or is this what he wants?” His brother answers not even three seconds after. When Jack doesn’t answer, he continues.   
“Do ya t’ink this is what he’d want? For ye ta spend th’ past two-three years drownin’ yourself in work? Would he want ya t’ be like this? Or would he want ya to live your life with joy?-” Everything then tuned out after that…  
What was he even thinking? He’s been so selfish about all of this…why did he do that?   
He been so selfish about everything, about questioning ‘Why me?’ when he should’ve been asking, ‘Why Mark?’ he should’ve been thinking about Mark, and what he would’ve wanted him to do. The worst part is, he’s lost himself so much that he doesn’t even know what Mark would want anymore.   
He doesn’t know what the difference between his own desires is, and Mark’s wants. He doesn’t know anymore. He’s like the Greek god, Sisyphus: He’s feels forever pushing the rock of his thoughts up the hill of right in his mind, but it soon rolls down the hills again awaiting Jack to try once more. The worst thing is, he doesn’t know if he should stop, he doesn’t know if he could stop pushing the rock.

What happened? He used to be able to fix these kinds of things on his own, he used to be able to trust people. He used to talk to his friends, his family. He used to be able to calm down, to find peace again. Malcom’s words started to tune back in.

“What should I do?” Jack asked. He needs help, he needs it badly. “Should I tell him the whole truth?” His brother nodded as response.

“But, don’t over-whelm him wit’ all of It, slowly tell him.” Malcom then said with a smile. He doesn’t want to, but he feels like he needs to.

-.-

He’s in a taxi, on his way home with his anxiety increasing. The closer the driver gets to his home, the more he sweats, the more he panics. Funny, on the plane ride back to America, he wasn’t at all stressed out/panicing about this, he just told himself it would be fine, but now in the taxi? Everything went off the rails. And he already knows that if he greets Mark and starts to tell him, he’ll get tongue tied and he’d barely be able to speak. Maybe he could-.

“Alright, we’re here” The taxi driver says to him, -He had paid him before- He gets out of the car and prepares himself. He hears the driver say have a nice day before he drives off.   
He walks up to his door, gets out his keys, he puts them in the lock, and takes a few breaths before opens it. Maybe he can tell Mark about his trip and then he can tell him the truth? That’s what he’ll do.

Mark doesn’t greet him when he comes through the door, but when Jack sees Mark sitting on one of the bar stools facing him, he doesn’t question it, and he just starts talking.

“Mark! I had such a great time at home! I wish you would’ve went with me!” He hasn’t thought about the things he would talk about, all he does is let his mouth run. “My oldest sister had another baby! They said they don’t know what they’re going to name them yet. One thing name they wouldn’t choose is Jack, because they don’t want anything getting mixed up.” He then chuckles. He’s trying to buy time. Maybe he could say something like, ‘Mark, the person in the picture was my husband, but you’re the person in the picture.’ He knows that if he ever tried that, he would just stumble over his own words-.   
“And Gizmo! She’s great! She even had little puppies!” He put down the bags that he was carrying on one of his couches.

“Jack-.”

“One of them is named Gear, but my family actually wanted me to name one of them! So I named them Will, that’s the first name that came to my head so I just went with it” Maybe he could tell him through coffee? No...   
“And I got to talk with Malcom again! He talked about all sorts of things like different types of music and movies-.”

“Jack-!”

“And we actually went to the cinemas and saw an action movie called LD-project-16, I had never heard of it, but it was actually pretty decent even though it’s a little bare bones. But we actually had a good time anyway!” How would he tell him-.

“SEAN!” Mark bellowed at him. Mark doesn’t know Jack’s real name. _This_ Mark doesn’t know his real name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry such a short one today, I'm trying to save some stuff up for it because I can feel writers block slowly coming to me.   
> But did you enjoy it? And what do you guys think of the fic so far? I'm seriously curious about you guys' thoughts :D


	20. I'd like that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack widened his eyes, he felt his skin grow cold. His heart-beat quickened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Spoiler, it's short...What? you were actually expecting a spoiler to the actual chapter? Nope! You silly nugget of friendship!) 
> 
> I hope you guys ENJOY!

“SEAN!” Mark bellowed at him. Mark doesn’t know Jack’s real name. _This_ Mark doesn’t know his real name.   
Jack widened his eyes, he felt his skin grow cold. His heart-beat quickened.

“Mar-.” Jack started, but his air go caught. “Where did you learn that name?” Mark didn’t answer him accordingly. He stood up from his seat and walked one step forward, leaving a five-step gap between the two.

“Why’d you do it?” Mark asked. What? What was he going on about-? “Why didn’t you move on?” In that instant Jack’s whole stomach dropped. All background noise disappeared.

“Wha-… what do-do you mean?” He doesn’t want to hear the answer, but he can’t bring himself to ask anything about anything else, or to feel anything else. His legs feel weak and frail, his breath beginning to get caught in his throat.   
Mark still holding his ground, but his hands are shaking.

“YOU KNOW DAMN WELL WHAT I MEAN!!” Mark shouted causing Jack to jump and to step back two steps. Jack was about to retort before he watch Mark hunch over a bit, head bowed, shaking.   
“You kn-know damn well...” He mumbled. “Why didn’t you just let me go? Why didn’t you jus-…” He looked up showing his glossy brown eyes that held so much more emotion than the past days.   
Jack wanted to go over to him, he wanted to go and touch him, to just…Make him calm down, but he feels like he can’t, like he shouldn’t.

“Mark…” Jack found himself saying. He has to do something if he can’t touch him.

“Don’t lie.” Mark said to him, trying to keep his breath even. “Don’t lie, tell me the truth…The whole truth” He was right then and there filled with guilt. Of course that would’ve affected him, of course that would’ve hurt him. But Jack still feels like he can’t, he feels that if he did Mark would fall into a million shattered pieces, but Jack knows that he’s already done that by lying to him. Jack’s breath caught in his throat, leaving him silent.   
“Sean…” Mark started, seeing that Jack couldn’t answer him in that moment. “You built me. You made a perfect copy of your husband, he made a perfect copy…” He paused, searching for words. “I am your best work…Why couldn’t you’ve used this to build the things you wanted to build? What you wanted to invent? Why couldn’t you use all of the data and tech for something else?” Jack can feel the pin pricks behind his eyes start to form into tears, and this is just the start of what Mark was saying. “Why couldn’t you properly mourn for your husband? Just…Why?”

“Because-,” His voice cracked, but he tries to keep going. “I…I just wanted to make you proud.” He whispered. He lifted his head up -that he didn’t realize had hung down- and he met Mark’s brown eyes. They wear wide, and tears were falling from them. Mark slowly stepped forward, getting closer step by step.   
That didn’t stop Jack from explaining, even though tears were falling down his own face.   
“I-I was just so broken the day I heard that you- were in the hospital…And I just couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t have you in my life…” He felt weak, weaker than he has been, he just feels more tired.   
“I didn’t want to lose you-, I didn’t want to come home to you not being there. I didn’t want to wake up in the morning without seeing you. I didn’t want you to leave. I don’t want you to leave. Not yet. Not-.” Arms wrap around his shoulders and he feels slight pressure on the top of his bent-down head. Whenever he’s like this, in somebody’s warm embrace when he’s so emotional, is when he feels is the most appropriate time to let go and cry. To _actually_ cry. The more Mark rubbed his back, the more he felt to cry.

They stood there for a few minutes, not saying anything, not doing anything else but being there for each other. That’s how Jack felt anyway, he felt just like he did when Mark was there, just how he felt when Mark was there for him.   
“Mark-,” He mumbled when he caught his voice and pulled back to look at him. “W-when did you find out?” Mark thought for a bit, not showing as much emotion as he would have.

“I figured it out when I left to go to the bathroom to get your medicine. I looked in the mirror and everything came back to me” Mark was telling the truth, that’s what he knows for sure. Why didn’t he figure that out sooner? That was when he had started acting strangely, that’s when Jack started to _really_ worry about him. The two of them walked to the couches, sitting across from each other but not too far away.

“Are you angry at me?” Jack cautiously asked.

“I don’t know” the other murmurs, “I honestly don’t know about anything”

“Can-.” Jack cuts himself off, trying to figure out what he was about to say. He doesn’t know how to act anymore, when Mark didn’t know who he was before, it was easy to talk to him. It was easy to act differently around him. But now that Mark remembers everything; Jack’s afraid of what to say. He’s afraid that whatever he tells him, he’ll hurt him.   
It’s strange to him, though. When Mark was still alive and with him, he wasn’t this afraid about talking to him about sensitive subjects like this, he wasn’t afraid at all. But now he feels like Mark is here, but it’s a whole different Mark that he’s not familiar with at all. He knows that he knows him, he knows that Mark knows him, but he feels like Mark’s a whole different person.   
Imagine knowing everything about a person down to the bone, but you haven’t met them: And when you _do_ meet them, even though you know everything there is to know about them, you still don’t _know_ them.  
That’s what it feels like to Jack, he feels like somebody gave him a piece of paper that told him everything about Mark, but he feels like he knows nothing about him.  

“Can we start over?” Mark suddenly asked, catching Jack off-guard. “I mean, can we re-wind back the past two years?”

“I’d like that” Jack smiles. Even though he knows that it won’t be the same, he wants to at least try. They smile at each other before Mark speaks up again.

“Can…Can we go to our park?” He asks. Jack nods his head, smiling as he reaches over to hold Mark’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW! IT'S SHORT AGAIN...I'm really sorry! 
> 
> I'm serious, I know you guys want longer chapters, but as I said a couple chapters ago in the notes, that is just the length of the scenes. If there were longer scenes, the chapter's would be longer! But they're not because I don't know how to make things good and long.   
> But, as always, I hoped you liked this one! Tell me what you think will happen next?


	21. Robin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a week since they’ve said to ‘start over’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY!   
> I actually have a reason why I didn't upload for two weeks. 
> 
> I thought since I write each chapter as a day in the fic, that I would wait two weeks since a week went by the this chapter.   
> Sorry, it makes since to me...

It’s been a week since they’ve said to ‘start over’. But it feel like it’s been so much longer than that. It feels like he’s expecting for Mark to turn around and shut down like normal hardware, to go back to the asking questions and then answering them with half-truth answers. He expects Mark to turn around and ask him the questions that haunt him. All starting with, when and why…He’s noticed.   
Then there’s another part of his brain that still thinks that all of this is a dream and that he’s going to wake up to Mark beside him. That part of the brain doesn’t even care if they aren’t married. That part of the brain doesn’t even care if he’s in a whole different reality. All it wants is for Mark to be back.   
But that part of the brain is the wishes and desires. Not the logic and reality side that has overridden the previous.   
But then there’s a part of him that’s the cursed pessimistic side that has taken over his once positive. He wants to tune all of it out, or even most of it if he could. But every time he tried to think positive: his Pessimistic side took over three times then it had been.   
_Everything’s fine, Mark’s happy and normal and everything is back to the way it was!_ He would tell himself. But then that’s when the thoughts would come back.   
**_Look at him. Something’s wrong with him. He’s not the same. He never will be. Give up. You can’t have him back. You can’t bring him back. This Mark is only doing it because he has the scrap feelings of guilt that the real Mark would have. He doesn’t truly feel. He doesn’t truly think. It’s all data. It’s all ones and zeros. This feels wrong, doesn’t it? It should_**. He would try to shrug them off and try to tune then out with the positive.   
_He’s here now. He cares. And that’s what matters. He’s fine. I’m fine. The both of us are fine. The two of us are happy. The two of us are back to normal. He’s normal. I’m normal. Everything’s fine. **Everything’s broken**.  Everything’s fine. **Everything is Lies**.  Everything is alright. **Everything is calamity**.  Everything is good. **Everything is built on lies**. Everything Is Fine… _

“Sean, you good?” Robin asks. Uh oh, Jack had spaced out.   
Jack had told Robin about Mark the day after they had said to ‘start over’ in person. He was shocked, he has every right to be, seeing his partner/boss show up to his house after two-three years without a word about him and then suddenly finding out that he built his deceased husband in all that time of solitude.

“Mm, sorry what did you say?” Jack asked.

“I asked if the government has sent you messages yet.” Robin answered. “Are you sure you’re good?”

“I turned off my messages a while ago, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they did.” The government and other businesses have been trying to get him to work for them for quite a long time, ever since he’d started his own company, that is. They haven’t stopped, either. They’ve slowed down, but they haven’t stopped.   
They keep sending out their own hand-written messages through actual letter and through E-mail saying that they’d pay him more than he was getting ten-fold (And he was already getting so much that he didn’t really need) But each time they would, he would decline. He didn’t want to have a boss, he didn’t want them to be a part of any of his work. He loved where he was, he loved being his own boss, his own person without anyone else telling him what to do. But of course he had employees. He had Robin which turned into a partnership, he also had Signe, who also turned into a partnership. Of course he had others, but those two were primary (Besides Mark, of course)   
but a thing is that the government had started to threaten him for his better works, but he still refused. They never did what they were threatening to do though, so he wasn’t afraid.  

“Is he, is he doing well? I know in the past when the two of us were trying to make projects like it, we failed because we went to fast into telling them information that they malfunctioned.”

“He’s doing surprisingly well. He’s learning like an actual human and he’s feeling like an actual human.” Jack said in a bored tone.   
“It’s really surprising, I never thought that I could ever build something him. I never thought that I would invent something that could actually feel and think on its own without being told.” Robin looked at him with a concerned look. Robin usually knows what he’s talking about, why is he suddenly not understanding?   
“What’s wrong?”

“…”

“What?”

“You don’t have your passion in your voice.” Robin sighed as he leaned back in his seat.

“What do you mean? I’m very passionate!” Jack angrily exclaimed. Of course he has passion! Why wouldn’t he?

“When something like this usually happens with your work, you always get into specifics. You always list what you put into your work, how it works, how you came up with it, all of it. But right then, you said it without any passion. You said it like you were reading cue cards, that you weren’t saying it from your heart. Whether you like it or not, you’re losing you passion. You’re losing your drive.” Robin stood up and walked toward his kitchen that was right next to the living room.   
“Do you want some coffee?”

What he really losing his spark? Of course he was. Why would he think otherwise? Why would he think that he would bring Mark back and then continue his work like nothing happened? Like Mark was never shot, like he had never died.   
Why did he ever think bringing Mark back would solve everything? Why did he even think that?

“Robin, what should I do?” Jack asked him. He needs answers, and if he tries to figure them out himself, his thoughts are just going to be clouded and he would just jump to conclusions.   
His partner looked toward him with two cups in his hands as he walks back into the living room.

“You won’t like it.” Robing finally answered about a minute later, handing his boss a mug. Jack didn’t object, so he slowly went on. “You need to…you need to let go.” Robin whispered. He couldn’t be hearing this right, he needs to say it again.

“What?” Jack asked in an accidental harsh tone.

“Sean, you need to learn to accept that he’s gone and let go.” Jack leaned back. He wished that he didn’t say that, anything but that. “You need to mourn. You need to accept that he’s gone for good and that you can’t bring him back. You need to accept that you have friends that are worried about you. You need to accept that you need to carry on with your life and not push everything to the side to be dealt with later. You need to accept that you have family that you need to look out for, that you need to move on. You need to forget the past, you need to live in the present, and you need to plan for the future.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know! I know! I know...  
> I'm really sorry you guys, I know you guys waited two weeks for a chapter and then you don't even get a long one...I'm serious I'm really sorry, I can't even believe that some of you actually stay even though I'm utter bullshit.   
> But I'm actually think of making a slow burn, longer chapter boxing fic. I've started to write it and everything!   
> But I sweat, I'm going to try and get the next chapter as fast as my fingers can type, I PROMISE!   
> (I feel like I'm trying to convince a bunch of mob bosses that I owe money to...but in reality I have all the power over the fic haha! :D )


	22. Pineapple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin’s words stuck to Sean as he rode his way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know...It's a confusing title and I love it! It's only gonna get more confusing in the chapter!   
> (I'm sorry you guys...Had a bit of the nasty writers block)

Robin’s words stuck to Sean as he rode his way back home. You need to forget the past…You need to live in the present…You need to live in the future.   
He knows that he’s at least forgotten the past…But he’s now having doubts. He doesn’t know what to do or say. He doesn’t know how to react to things anymore, he doesn’t remember what he should be excited about now. He just…Doesn’t know.   
He makes a turn that leads to his house, and everything seems to fast-forward as he drives closer to his house and then up the driveway.

He always expects to see him on the other side of the door in the living room writing something down on his notebook. He expects him to be asleep, in his room, in the guest room, just being silent anywhere in the house. He expects him to ask questions, he expects him to not know who he is.   
He doesn’t expect him to open the door and greet him with a kiss.

“So, how was Robin?” Mark asks him as he walks toward the kitchen to grab a mug and then leans forward a bit on the counter. Sean smiled.

“He was really good, we talked about the business.” He sat down on one of the stools that were on the other side of their bar. “Is there anymore coffee?” Mark nodded as he went to get Sean a mug.

“Hmm,” Mark hummed as he poured Sean a cup of coffee. “Do you want any sugar?” Sean nods and Mark puts in two teaspoons, stirs it and hands Jack the mug.

This seems too peaceful, something must be wrong.

“Sean? Are you okay? You look a little uncomfortable.” Mark asks as he looks toward the other with worrisome eyes. All that the other does is nod.   
“Are you sure? Do you need a glass of water-?”

“I’m sure, I’m just a little tired, and that’s all.” He thinks he told the truth, but at the same time it doesn’t feel like it.   
“Coffee’s good” He mumbles as he takes a sip. He doesn’t want to upset Mark any more than he has already.   
This week has been a little unnerving on his end of things. It all feels like he just woke up from a nightmare. Like everything just re-wound and started over before everything went downward. But it also feels like somebody corrupted the tape and little flash-backs appear and they threaten to take everything away good away from them.

-.-

_Mark was pacing back and forth. What was wrong with him?_

_“Mark?” Sean walked toward him a bit. “Are you okay?” Mark stops and faces toward him, trying his best to put on a comforting expression._

_“I’m fine, I’m just…I’m just thinking, is all.” Mark looks like he’s saying it more to himself and not the man in front of him._

_“What were you thinking about?” The words accidentally escape before Sean thought about them properly. He has a feeling that it’s something to do with him being software, but he prays to a god of any kind that that’s not it._

_“It’s-it’s nothing. See? I’m fine now!” Mark smiled before he walked passed Sean and walked up the stairs and went into their room._

-.-

That wasn’t the only moment like that that happened earlier that week, there was a another time when Mark had asked him the same question over and over and not knowing that he had asked previously. There was another time where he had been quiet the whole entire day, but he mostly had a smile on his face that day. Sean doesn’t know if Mark’s was malfunctioning or not, and he doesn’t want to find out because of their agreement they made to just forget everything had happened, forget that Sean had made him, forget that Mark had died.

“You remember when the two of us had first met?” Mark asked. Jack looks up from his mug and sets it down, and then goes back to the memory, smiling at it as he nods.   
“You never knew how much I actually liked you back then, did you?” Mark let out a little chuckle as he glanced over at the other.

“No, I thought that you didn’t like me at all! I thought you had a grudge with me that I didn’t even know about.” Sean genuinely laughed as he took another sip.

“Really?! My god you were wrong! Why did you think that?”

“I don’t know, you never talked to me and when I would try to walk up to you, you would look at me and then just turn toward your friends and just completely ignore me, so I didn’t push it. I never even thought that you like me at all!” the two of them were having a little laughing fit as they kept drinking their coffee.

“I had a huge crush on you back then, but after our first date, I was head over heels” Sean saw mark’s cheeks go a bit red before he tried to cover it up with his mug as he took a sip.

“What about now? Do you have a crush on me now?” Sean asked him with a little tune to his voice, looking at the other.   
Mark looked at him blankly but then smiled quickly.

“Now? No, I hate you. You didn’t give me a kiss when I greeted you just thirty minutes ago!” Mark then turned around in a rough huff.

“Oh good! I thought it was only one-sided hate” Sean joked as he turned slightly to the side, not giving Mark the pleasure of his attention. And at that Mark turned around with a hand on his heart and he acted hurt.

“Why…Why would you ever say that!?” Mark sucked in a harsh breath and held it in his puffed up cheeks –Sean could see him in his peripherals-.   
“Why would you say that even though you’ve know this whole time that I was allergic to pineapple!?”…What? Sean turned back toward him, looking at him with a confused expression, what did he even mean by that? But…He’s going to go with it? He guesses?   
Sean gets off of his seat, nearly falls over, and has a shocked expression plastered on his face.

“Are you saying that I’m a pineapple that you couldn’t possibly love because you’re allergic?!” The two of them know that Mark’s not allergic to pineapple, but they go along with it. Mark looks at him briefly with a slightly shocked and confused expression. He guesses that Mark thought that they would just stop there.

“YES! THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT!” Mark shouted in his overly exaggerated jaw motions similar to Warfstache’s. Oh no, he’s going to act like Wilford, isn’t he?   
“Because I take no shit, from no pineapple!” Yep, he was right. But it went as soon as it came when the two of them suddenly just looked at each other blankly…And then practically rolling on the floor with their wails of obnoxious laughter.

“God how I missed those moments!” Sean suddenly calming his laughing fit and he slowly walks back over to his seat.   
“God, I love you.” It feels so long since he’s said it, and it felt so long since he’s meant anything like it. He looks over to Mark who had calmed down before he did, looking at Sean with a little smile.

“Really? I thought you hated me” Mark chuckled.

“Oh, fuck you. You ruined the moment.”

-.-

Sean was sitting in his bed, looking through his phone at practically nothing in particular.   
Mark came out of the bathroom and sat on the side of the bed with a slightly craned neck.

“What would you do if I just up and left?” The second he heard that, was the second he looked up from his phone and looked toward Mark.

“What do you mean?” Sean shifts a little so he could sit straighter and not slouched.

“I mean, would you do if I just, left? Or just stopped having feelings?”

“Whoa, Mark, is this a serious question? Or is it a ‘just curious’ and it doesn’t actually mean anythin’?” Whatever Mark’s thinking of, Sean’s getting seriously worried.

“No, it’s just a curious thing that just suddenly popped into my head. It’s nothing serious” Mark said in a quicker pace than normal.

“Um, well…” _‘I would lock myself in my lab for how many years trying to bring you back’_ Sean stopped himself before he could actually say his thoughts before he really thought about it. What _would_ he do? He only did that because Mark had died, not because he had just left on his own.   
“I would most likely respect your decision because if that what you would want, or if that’s what feels right to you, than I wouldn’t try too much to persuade you into staying.” That’s the most honest answer that he could give to Mark and to himself.   
“If you don’t love me, I can’t talk you out of it. I can’t control who you love, you do.” He pauses. “But I can’t say that I wouldn’t be a total mess about a month later.” And at that he gets a laugh out of the other.

“Hmm, that’s good.” Sean doesn’t understand what he said, but just a few minute later, the two of them fall into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I really don't know with the little skit the two of them did in the middle of it, Pineapple was just the first thing that popped into my head (probably because I'm hungry) and it somehow works? I really don't know guys, I'm just as confused as you guys are...
> 
> but in all seriousness, thank all of you. Thank all of the people who stay, and thank you to all the people who even give my fic a chance and who actually leave comments and kudos or just people who just read it, it really means a lot to me.   
> I love this fic because this is the most I've ever talked to people over something I've created, and it's the most wonderful feeling that I've ever felt in a while, you guys don't know how much I love talking to all of you, even if I don't respond and if I respond late, I will always and still love it.   
> but that just gets me sad because I feel that this fic is close to coming to a close. And I have to say, I'm proud that I've written something like this, even though the chapters aren't as long as they should be, I still love it to death and I'm going to be sad and a little emotional after ending this.   
> So, from the absolute bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you so much. you've all made me so happy over the months I've been writing, so truly, thank you.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack finally lets go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (the -x- means that it's a switch in perspectives by the way, and the -.- is still time skips)

He knows it’s wrong, he knows it. He shouldn’t do it, he knows it shouldn’t, but he feels like he _needs_ to.

When he had first remembered who and what he was, it felt like all of his feelings had rebooted to what they were before the ‘incident’. He remembered how he’d felt when he first met Sean, how happy he felt on their first date, how nervous he’d felt when he met his parents, how excited he felt when Sean said yes, how complete he felt on their wedding day. How worried, heartbroken, and how pained in all since of the word and in all forms of the word when he had been shot.  
And then…and then he remembered how, empty he had felt when he had opened his eyes, how confused he had felt when he’d had seen Jack’s face when he had woken up, how familiar he thought his face was. How uncertain he was about Jack’s answers but how easily he forgot, how he had felt when he saw the forget-me-nots, how broken he felt right after Jack saw them and not knowing why he had felt saddened over the little flowers, how he had felt when he asked Jack all of those questions about who the stranger was in the pictures. But now? He feels…

Fake. He feels like a cheap imitator, just a piece of hardware that programmed to feel and think like the man once named Mark. He can’t genuinely feel like anything other than just, an imposter. He doesn’t love Jack, even though he should. He doesn’t feel like he could _ever_ love jack the way he used too, or, the way _Mark_ used to. His name seems foreign, the name the green haired man had given him. He knows that he doesn’t love Jack, and it doesn’t feel wrong or foreign. But at the same time, he loves Sean, and it feels wrong of him to say no.  
It just feels like his true and fake feelings are arguing against one-another trying to convince him which one’s right and which one’s wrong and he just wants to get away.

He wants to tell Jack the truth. He wants to tell him that he doesn’t love him, he wants to tell him that he doesn’t feel nearly anything. He wants to tell him everything without the guilt that he knows he’ll feel. He doesn’t want to deal with seeing that cursed pained expression flow across Sean’s features, he doesn’t want to see the disappointment, anger, and just overall pain behind his eyes. He wants to see Sean happy, but he can’t do that through lies. He can’t keep acting like he cares. He can’t keep acting like he loves him. He’d nearly ‘had an episode’ this week. He’s already caused Sean to feel worried. He can’t do that for all the time he has left, however long that is. And not just that, what can he do? He can’t keep up his channel anymore, the people that watched him before would feel more pain in knowing that he really isn’t the real Mark all of them used to know, that would just cause them pain. He can’t be there for his friends, he doesn’t feel like he knows them, even Tyler, he doesn’t feel like he knows him. And he would cause his friends pain, all of them. It’s strange, he cares for them, through and through, but he feels like he doesn’t _know_ them. He’s already caused them the pain of his death, he doesn’t want to cause the renewing of the pain. He doesn’t want people to look at him and think of who he once was, but soon finding out that it’s not him. He needs to end it. He needs to end it before it gets worse…

-x-

It feels like he’s going behind Mark’s back by looking through his files. But he can’t help but take notice to the bad feeling in his stomach that happened that morning.  
Right now, he’s in his lab searching over files that may’ve been unstable and could’ve caused a problem in the future that would cause a malfunction.

Nothing. He can’t find anything that could cause a breakdown. Good. But that doesn’t help the fact that he still has the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.  
What seems wrong is the question that Mark had asked him the night before. Maybe it was just as Mark had told him was just a curious question, but it didn’t feel like it. The way he put it, the tone he had with it. It sounded more like a passing question, like it didn’t matter, but at the same time it sounded like it did. And when he had asked the other if it was a serious or curious question, he answered it way faster than it should’ve been. It’s just, worrying him.

But really, that’s all he can do nowadays is worry.

-x-

Mark was looking through an Email Jack had gotten a year ago, and it’s frightening. Jack had turned his notifications on and had started looking at his Emails a couple days ago, but only on his computer. Not his phone. But it doesn’t surprise him that jack hasn’t been looking through them or paying them any mind.   

He knows Jack thinks lowly of this, and he himself does too, but now it’s different. Now the notice is even more threatening and more serious than anything else. He slammed the laptop shut when he heard a knock on the front door.  
He grabbed the laptop, rushed it in his old office, placed it on his desk and then quickly walked back toward the door.  
He was expecting Jack on the other side of the door, but this is so far from Jack.

“Is Sean Mcloughlin here?” Mark was immediately terrified.

“No, may I ask why you need him?” Mark’s mind is telling him to shut the door, bolt it, and hide. But his body apparently says otherwise.

“As you may know, Mcloughlin had not informed the government of Project BB 208. A private Email was set out a year ago telling Mcloughlin that he is to stop production until he has fully informed them of what he tends to do with said project.  
“If he doesn’t act accordingly in the next three days, said government would have no other choice but to shut it down permanently.”

-x-

He doesn’t know what to do, so he supposes he’ll just go home.

He raises his hand, but the door opens before he could knock. Mark looks like he’s about to collapse of how weak he looks holding himself up like that. Before Mark could react, Jack pulled him into a hug. Even though he doesn’t know what’s going on in Mark’s mind, he wants to comfort him. He _needs_ to.

“Mark? Mark, what’s wrong?” his voice is on the verge of _shaking_.

“Nothing, I just woke up…” That hasn’t been an issue before, he didn’t add that feature in: That was a fact. Mark slowly looked over his face which was full of concern.  
“What?” But Jack can’t say anything about it because they agreed to forget anything about his death had ever happened.      

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jack murmured to him. Mark nodded as he rubbed his eye and yawned.

“Other than tired, yeah! Why wouldn’t I be?” Mark smiled a bit over his tired posture.  
Something about that smile was off, but Jack couldn’t place it.

-x-

“Hey Mark? Did you wash my ripped jeans?” Jack exclaims from upstairs to Mark who was in the kitchen leaning on the counter pretending to scroll through his phone.

“Yeah, they should be in the washer!” Mark replied, but not really paying attention.

He should tell him. He should tell who came to the door before Jack made it home. He should tell him what they wanted.  
But there’s a strong thought that says ‘no, don’t tell him, you can’t’ and he can’t help but to listen to it and to do what it says. But at the same time another part of his brain is telling him to tell Jack the whole thing. To tell Jack that he feels wrong and strange, he needs to tell him that people came to their house, he need to tell him that he doesn’t…

“Mark, did you hear me?” Jack asked as he put on his shoes. Mark looked up from his phone and gave Jack a look that told him that he, didn’t hear him.

“I’m sorry, what?” Mark asked with a clueless expression hiding the thoughts he was thinking previously.

“I said that I was going to spend the day with Felix because he’s going to go back to brighten soon, is that okay or do you need me to take care of you like a baby?”

“Yeah that’s fine! I can take care of myself!” Mark replied with laughs mixed in. Jack rolled his eyes and walked toward the door.

“And say hi to Felix for me, Love you!” Mark yelled at him as he walked out the door, hearing Jack say ‘love you’ back from behind the door.  
The words…they feel forced. They feel artificial and not genuine.

Mark waited about ten minutes before he ran towards their room, pulled out a small box that was lodged under their mattress and opened it to find a flash drive and a key. Jack always kept the key to the lab away from his key ring just in case he gets mugged or something worse.  
The flash drive had a lot of his codes and projects and multiple private things that Jack puts on it when he doesn’t want people to see it, and to make it even more secure is that he put a password lock and it could only be opened with the password, a password that Jack always changes once a month.  
Mark pockets both the key and flash drive as he walks out of the room. He grabs a hat and sun glasses as he walks out of the house, locking it on his way out with the spare house key he had picked up off the coffee table and putting it with the flash drive and lab key.

-x-

“Jack!” Felix yelled out to Jack as he ran toward him as he was getting out of his car.

“Hey Fe!” Jack exclaimed as the two of them hugged and started to walk towards the café.  
The two of them walked up the counter prepared to order their coffee.

“What can I do for you?” The person from behind the counter asked with their head bent down toward a screen, Jack guessed that they were around eighteen.

“Yes, I would like a green tea,” Felix paused for Jack to order. Jack glanced up at the board filled with different drink names, foods, and desserts and then looked toward the teen.

“And I would have a regular black coffee, please” Jack answered. The teen said their orders to the other workers in the kitchen out back. The teen typed their orders in, looked over the screen again before finally looking up to them saying the order as they did so.

“That would be $8.85, sir” But their eyes widened and their lips parted a bit as they looked at the two of them but then quickly closed their mouth and lowered their eyes a bit.  
“S-So, who’s uh- paying?” The both of them looked at each other and looked back to the person, Jack pulls out his wallet and pays for their drinks.  
“Your drinks will be ready in a couple minutes” And with that the two of them thanked him as they walk toward their seat and sat down.

“You think they recognized you?” Jack asked Felix quietly so the teen couldn’t hear them.  

“I don’t think so, but sh! They’re coming over…” Felix whispered to him as the teen walked up to them with their drinks in hand.

“Okay, so I have your green tea and your black coffee. Will that be all?” The teen put their drinks on the table with shaking hands and an undertone of a shaking voice.

“Um, I don’t think so, thank you” Jack said to them. Jack could tell that he wanted to say something by the look in their eyes.

“You’re, Sean Mcloughlin, right?” The teen asked with the words jumbled together a bit, Jack nodded. “I’m Mercedes, I’ve been reading and following some articles on your work and you as a person as well. And I just wanted to say that I’m a fan and I wanted to ask you something, is that okay?” Mercedes asked him with a nervous posture.

“Yeah, go ahead!” Jack said with a smile, he forgotten how it had felt to have people come up to him just to say hi, get a photo with him, or just to ask him a question. He really missed the feeling.

“Okay, so a lot of articles and rumors have been going around that you had stopped making your tech due to stress. I know that was about a year ago, but I was just wondering if you were okay now and if you were going to continue your work?” they asked him. Jack was sort of taken aback by the question, he honestly didn’t know there was a rumor like that about him, he expected it, but he didn’t know that it had actually happened.  
But then again, he shouldn’t really be surprised by it, he did turn off everything that he could use to communicate with through the internet, and he basically wiped himself off of the media.

“I’m doing okay, thank you for asking! And don’t worry, I will continue. You have my word, Mercedes!” And with that, the teen smiled, thanked him, and left to take more orders.

“Wow” Felix sighed with a smile. “I forgot that you are actually famous!” Felix joked.

“Oh, shut up!” the two of them laughed as they spent the day joking and having a good time.

-.-

Jack went home rather late in the afternoon. He knocked on the door with a happy attitude, but nobody answered. He knocked again, maybe Mark can’t hear him? He waited for about two minutes before he knocked again but louder. He waited about three minutes and knocked again. Nobody, nobody answered.  
He’s now panicking, Mark wouldn’t have gone to be at this hour, would he? He dug around in his pocket before pulling out his house key and unlocked the door. Maybe Mark actually can’t hear him? Maybe he’s just watching something with headphones?

“Mark?” Jack called out as he put his keys and bag down on the coffee table and looked around. He’s not in the kitchen, and he’s not in the living room. He walked up the stairs and looked in all of the rooms: the bathroom, the guest room, the closet, and their room, and Jack’s office. Jack ran back down stairs toward Marks office-.

-x-

He’s almost done. Mark’s almost done with what he needs to do. All he has to do is wait.  
He’s currently sitting down on the lab table with cables attached to the sides of his neck and one attached to the middle of his chest. He’s just sitting on the table, thinking with all of the cables that were hung from the ceiling attached to his body. He’s holding a flash drive in one hand, and has a remote sitting beside him as he rubs on the flash drive that’s in his left hand.  

He wonders. He wonders if Jack will be okay this time. The last time he had ‘left’ He had been murdered no real reason other than bad timing and a drunk man with a gun, and that was it. This time, though, was different. This time he had a reason to go, and he had a right time to go. But one hard thing to do is that he has to watch Jack say farewell. But it’s the best thing to do.  
He can’t just do this without Jack not knowing and without him hearing his voice for the last time, and he can’t die without hearing his voice for the last time…

-x-

Jack’s panicking. He looked in his office, and he wasn’t there. He looks all around the house and he couldn’t find him. But what’s one more thing to do is to check his lab…

_Oh no._

Jack bolts out of the door and races down the street without thinking about nothing other than Mark. He’s too panicked and nervous to cry, but he finally reaches to his lab and he sees the key in the doorknob, it’s unlocked.

He races down the halls toward the main room, toward where Mark was. What was Mark doing here? Why was Mark here? What provoked him to come here? Why?  
He enters the room and sees Mark shirtless with cables attached to the rightful places, on his neck and his chest. Jack’s eyes widen a bit as he slowly walks toward Mark, gaining speed as he walks but then he runs. What was Mark thinking?

“Mark..?” He mumbles as he looks at what he’s done. “What’s…what’s going on?” Mark looks up at him from looking at a flash drive that’s in his hands.

“Sean…” Mark quietly said. “We have to, talk” Mark looked up towards jack with worried eyes. Jack slowly nodded as he sat down on the table next to Mark. Mark shifted a little towards Jack, still holding the flash drive. “Listen, I know I’ve been acting strange. I know I have. But I have to tell you something, but you might not like it” Jack thought, and nodded again.  
“Ever since I remembered who I was and what had happened, I haven’t been feeling like my old self.”

“What…what do you mean?” Jack asked, there’s two roads that he thinks this is going to go down, but he doesn’t know which one is going to be correct.

“I mean, I don’t feel the same way I did two years ago. I don’t feel like the old Mark that you had meant to build…I haven’t been feeling like I used too. I know how I should feel, but I don’t feel it. I don’t understand why I loved YouTube so much, I don’t understand it anymore. I don’t understand why I had made those for people to watch. I remember having too much passion for doing it, now I just feel nothing towards it. And-…” He paused, thinking. Jack shifted in his seat of the table.

“Mark, it’s okay.” Jack placed a hand on the other’s shoulder. “Whatever you need to say to me, you can say it. I’m here for you” Mark smiled toward him and took a breath.

“And I don’t…I don’t feel anything genuinely now. I don’t feel like I used to toward you. I don’t feel like I did before everything happened. I know who I was and how I was supposed to act, but I don’t feel like him. I don’t feel like your husband. I don’t feel like the Mark that everybody had known. I don’t feel like I’m supposed to.  
“I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t know how you were going to act or feel. But then…but then men came to the door this morning when you were at work…”

“Mark-.”

“Sean, these weren’t your typical businessmen. They were official and they had said that if you didn’t tell the government about me, they would have to permanently get rid of me by force.  
“I knew that if you tell the government, they would tell you that you have to sell it to them for legal reasons, and I couldn’t just stand there and let you go through the pain of losing me again without you knowing about it. So…I needed you to be here for this.” Mark stopped for Jack to process.

He couldn’t believe it. But he did have to admit something,

“Mark…I understand. It felt like I knew your thoughts and opinions but I didn’t know you. I felt like you were a whole different person that just had a face of person who I had known, and that’s it.  
“I always knew that this was all wrong. And that I need to mourn, but I couldn’t. Mark I’m…” Jack had started to well up, “I’m sorry that I had made you. I’m sorry that I made you to cope. I’m sorry about you being murdered, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry that I didn’t just move on. I’m…I’m-.” Jack was interrupted by Mark hugging him with a warm embrace.

“I forgive you. I was never mad at you. I was never disappointed by you. I loved you, Sean. I loved you. My last thoughts were worrying about you and how you will do without you knowing I’ll be there when you come home. I was thinking about how much I loved you. I’m proud to have known you, and I’m proud that my past self-had found someone who was so kind and happy. Your husband loved you. And he always will” Mark finished. Those last word that he had said stood out. It felt like he was telling it himself, it felt right.

“Mark…?” Jack pulled back from the hug, Mark hummed in response. “What do you want me to do?” Mark smiled at him. Mark explained to him that he needed to take the remote that was on the other side of him activated the machine to power him down permanently. He had also told him to take the flash drive that was from his hands when he had fully powered down.  
Jack nodded as he took the remote in his hands and he held Mark’s head up as he laid down on the table.

“Are you ready?” Jack asked him gently. Mark nodded. Jack took a breath. He was doing this. And it’s going to be okay. He pressed the button and watched the power slowly drain out of Mark.  
“Mark?” Mark slowly looked up to him. “I won’t forget you.”

“…Promise?” Mark almost mouthed with a weak smile.

“I promise.” Jack said before Mark finally closed his eyes and the power was fully drained, and Jack was left in his lab. “I promise…” He echoed as he held Mark in his arms.

-Five yours later-

Jack is in a graveyard, looking over a grave stone.

“I finally did it.” He said to the stone with a smile. “I finally made working VR contacts! I know you were doubtful when I first told you about it, but now I finally did it!” Jack exclaimed as he crouched down in front of it.  
“I know I haven’t visited you in about three years, but I had my hands full being a dad! You heard it right, I’m now a father of a cute little daughter-.”

“DADDY!” A small voice interrupted jack’s words.

“And there she is now…” Jack stood up from the grass and looked toward two figures who were walking towards him, well, two if you count one that’s running and bouncing toward him.  
“SAMMY!” He yelled with outstretched arms. “How are you? Did Mommy do a good job of taking care of you while I wasn’t around?”

“She did, but I would’ve loved it more if you were playing with me instead! That way I can actually win at hide and seek…” The little girl mumbled at the end.

“Yes, because your daddy isn’t good at finding things” Signe came up to the both of them. “How’s he doing?” she motioned to the grave stone.

“Oh, he’s probably doing well!”

“Daddy! Did you give him those little blue flowers?” Sam asked him as she looked down to the stone, pointing toward a little bouquet of bunched up forget-me-nots on the stone.

“Yep! He loves those!” Jack giggled with the little girl and then later listening to his wife join in.

-.-

Jack was now looking around for something until he stumbled on a little wooden box. He opened it and pulled out a black flash drive from the box. That’s right, he never saw what was inside.  
He walked down the stairs and he walked towards a room that was located at the back of the house. He opened the door, and looked around the room and saw the foam padding and the computer and the whole set-up still hooked up and that would be ready to go.  
He looked toward in front of the desk and saw two rings that were gently placed by each-other. He walked in the room and gently placed the flash drive by the two rings and walked out of the door, but before he closed it, Jack smiled as he closed the door on his way out.  
                                                                                 

He’s finally ready to let go.

**_THE END._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit. This was the chapter to do it. This was the chapter to actually make me cry, and that's a rarity! 
> 
> How was it? Was it a good finale chapter?  
> but seriously, I hope I didn't disappoint any of you with this ending and as a whole story and with my upload times, I'm really sorry.
> 
> But, that was the end! I hope you enjoyed as much as I did,  
> Bye-Bye, guys! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated :)
> 
> (You guys can go ask questions if you want here at my Tumblr: http://jaywasablindpirate.tumblr.com/ But SH! You didn't hear anything from me!)  
> (Oh boy, two more chapters left...I'm scared)


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